North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Maryland

Palatka Skipper (Euphyes pilatka)
JPG -- species photo

Palatka skipper (Euphyes pilatka [W. H. Edwards])

Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/8 inches (4.5 - 5.4 cm).

Identification: Upperside is orange with black borders; male forewing has a black 2-part stigma. Underside of hindwing is dull brown and may have faint pale spots.

Life history: Males perch in depressions in marshes to await receptive females. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in shelters of rolled leaves.

Flight: Two broods along the Atlantic Coast from May-September; probably three broods in Florida from January-November.

Caterpillar hosts: Sawgrass sedge (Cladium jamaicensis).

Adult food: Nectar of pickerelweed and other plants.

Habitat: Coastal brackish marshes and freshwater marshes.

Range: Immediate coast from southeast Virginia south to the Florida Keys; peninsular Florida; west along the Gulf Coast to southern Mississippi. Strays to northern Maryland and southwest Louisiana.

Conservation: Populations should be conserved wherever found.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).

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:


Glassberg,  J.  1993.  Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to 

     Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region.  Oxford Univ. Press, 

     New York, N.Y.  160 pp.



Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998.  The Butterflies of 

     Canada.  University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON.  280 pp.

     

Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.      



Woodbury, E.N.  1994.  Butterflies of Delmarva.  Delaware Nature Society, Inc.,

     Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD.  138 pp.  [NOTE: this book only 

     treats True Butterflies (Papilionoidea).  It does not treat Skippers

     (Hesperioidea).]

Palatka Skipper (Euphyes pilatka)
distribution map
map legend

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