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Carolina Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes carolina [Skinner])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 7/16 inches (2.9 - 3.7 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown; forewing with small yellow spots. Underside of forewing is black with a dull yellow apex; hindwing is dull yellow with brown spots.
Life history: Males perch in the afternoons in sunny openings to wait for females.
Flight: Three broods from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably switch cane (Arundinaria tecta).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of sweet pepperbush, swamp milkweed, cinquefoil, wild strawberry, blackberry, and ironweed.
Habitat: Near streams and swamps in wet woods.
Range: Southeast Virginia south to South Carolina; west to northern Mississippi. Isolated populations in Delaware, southern Illinois, and northwest Arkansas.
Conservation: Populations should be monitored as habitat is gradually being reduced by drainage and conversion to agriculture.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns
Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.
Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson
field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
Sedman, Y. and Hess, D.F. 1985. The Butterflies of West Central Illionois.
Series in the Biological Sciences No. 11. Western Illinois Univ., Macomb,
IL. 118 pp.
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