Dotted Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes eos [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.2 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Fringes are white with dark patches at the end of the veins. Upperside is black; forewing has a few very small white spots near the tip and in the center. Underside of hindwing is gray-brown with round white spots that have narrow black borders.
Life history: To wait for receptive females, males perch on flat spots near gully bottoms or fly up slopes.
Flight: Several flights from March-October.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably obtuse panicgrass (Panicum obtusum) in Arizona.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including Verbena and Astragalus.
Habitat: Canyons, ravines, and roadsides in shortgrass and mixed-grass prairies, oak grassland, and juniper-pinyon woodland.
Range: Southwestern Colorado, southern Kansas, and northeast Texas south to central Arizona, South Texas, and northern 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.
Bailowitz, R. A., and J. P. Brock. 1991. Butterflies of southeastern Arizona. Sonoran Arthropod Studies, Inc., Tucson, Arizona. 342 pages. 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. 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