Orange-headed Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes phylace [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Fringes are cream-colored and not checkered, head and palpi are orange. Upperside is brown-black with no markings; male forewing has a small black stigma. Underside is dark brown with no markings.
Life history: To wait for receptive females, males perch all day in bare depressions in gulches.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Not reported.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open woodland and grassland.
Range: The Rocky Mountains of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and west Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
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:
Bailowitz, R. A., and J. P. Brock. 1991. Butterflies of southeastern Arizona. Sonoran Arthropod Studies, Inc., Tucson, Arizona. 342 pages. Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates. Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO. Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann