North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Virginia

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta)
JPG -- species photo

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta [Boisduval & LeConte])

Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 1/8 inches (3.9 - 5.4 cm).

Identification: Upperside is yellow-orange with black borders, which are wider in the female. Underside of forewing is yellow-orange with black on the lower outer edge; hindwing is yellow with no markings.

Life history: Not reported.

Flight: Two broods in May and July-September; possibly one brood in the north.

Caterpillar hosts: Not reported.

Adult food: Nectar from flowers of pickerelweed and swamp milkweed.

Habitat: Brackish river marshes and abandoned rice paddies.

Range: Isolated populations along the Atlantic Coast from southern New Jersey and Maryland south to coastal Georgia. The range was extended into New Jersey during the 1980's.

Conservation: Populations should be conserved wherever found.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G2 - Imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered 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.    



Clark, A.H. and Clark, L.F. 1951.  The Butterflies of Virginia.  Smithsonian

     Miscellaneous collection No. 116:1-239.



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).]

Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta)
distribution map
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