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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:
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.
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