Snow's Skipper (Paratrytone snowi [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown; forewing with several clear spots; male forewing with a narrow black stigma. Hindwing has a row of small reddish spots. Underside is reddish brown with a black forewing base; upperside spots are repeated below.
Life history: Adults have a very swift flight. Males perch in gullies all day to wait for females, who lay eggs singly on host plant leaves.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Pine dropseed grass (Blepharoneuron tricholepis).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Openings in Ponderosa pine forests, mountain meadows, especially along streams and gulches..
Range: High elevations in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.
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:
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
State and Regional References:
Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown. 1980. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountain States. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman. Ferris, C.D. 1971. An Annotated Checklist of the Rhopalocera [Butterflies] of Wyoming. University of Wyoming Agriculture Experiment Station Science Monograph 23: 1-75. Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. Privately published, Denver, Colo. Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.