Older larva in leaf shelter that has been opened to reveal the caterpillar inside. Some predatory wasps will take the caterpillars from their shelters, even though the caterpillars will regurgitate a greenish, bitter-tasting, defensive chemical if disturbed. The caterpillars grow up to 2 inches long. The older instars have two orange or red dots on the head that look like big eyes, presumably to startle potential predators. Older larvae have orange dots on the head that resemble large eyes. The larvae have a pronounced neck collar (L) and orange prolegs (RC and R). The larvae have a smooth-skinned, narrow yellowish to green body – with narrow darker green bands upon close inspection – with bright orange prolegs and an enlarged, dark reddish-brown head capsule and a pronounced neck collar. Young caterpillar of silver-spotted skipper. They leave these shelters at night or on cloudy days to feed on nearby foliage. They abandon smaller shelters as they grow and move to make new shelters. The young caterpillars live in a shelter created by a folded flap of leaf cut from the leaf margin and tied down with silk threads, while later instars tie together several leaves with silken threads to create a protective nest. Like most skippers, silver-spotted skipper larvae live in leaf shelters. Shelter of leaves tied together with silk, with feeding damage visible on leaf. Other reported favorites include perennial sweet pea ( Lathyrus latifolius), common milkweed ( Asclepias syriaca), and red clover ( Trifolium pratense).įolded leaf flap shelters of first instars.įemales lay single, domed green eggs on or near host plants and the newly hatched larvae must find the foliage to eat. They are commonly seen on blue mealy sage ( Salvia farinacea), blazing star ( Liatris spp.), anise hyssop, and thistles. They show a clear preference for blue, red, pink and purple flowers and rarely visit yellow flowers. Silver-spotted skippers prefer blue, red, pink, and purple flowers.Īdults nectar on a wide variety of flowers. They have the jerky flight typical of many skippers and typically perch upside down under leaves when not out foraging. They have large eyes that appear to bulge out from the head and short antennae with clubbed ends. Skippers have large eyes and antennae with hooked clubs on the end. The distinct metallic silver to white irregular central spot on the underside of the hind wing that gives rise to the common name makes it easy to identify when at rest. There are transparent yellowish-gold spots in a row on the upper side of the sharply-pointed, triangular forewing and a slight white fringe along the wing edge. The wings are a chocolate brown and the hind wing has a short, but noticeable rounded lobe or tail. The adult silver spotted skipper is one of the most conspicuous skippers because it is relatively large for a skipper (with a wingspan of about 1¾ – 2½ inches), but it is not very colorful. The silver-spotted skipper is chocolate brown with white and gold markings. Although they can be abundant, they do not occur in groups and are often seen singly. It is one of the more common skippers in the southern two-thirds of the state of Wisconsin, being found on roadsides, in open woods, along streams and forest edges, in fields and prairies, as well as in gardens.
the first brood occurs in June and early July and a second brood in late July and August. This species in the family Hesperiidae has one to two generations a year in the Midwest, with more in the southern part of the United States. They are day fliers like butterflies but are often dull-colored like most moths, with swift, bouncing and erratic flight. Skippers are a group of several families in the order Lepidoptera that have stout bodies and relatively small wings. The silver spotted skipper, Epargyreus clarus, is one of the largest and most widespread skippers, occurring throughout most of North America.
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