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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) on Guadalupe Island rock daisy |
The warm temperatures of spring through
fall bring many butterflies to Southern California gardens. From the large and dramatic Western Tiger
Swallowtail to the miniscule Pygmy Blue, their bright colors and interesting
behavior add much to our warm season gardens.
Butterfly-watching is enjoyed by all ages – and can be done
inexpensively and comfortably in even a small garden. It’s no wonder that interest in butterflies
is growing.
Common to California gardens are the
small orange/gold, brown and black butterflies known collectively as the
Skippers. The Skippers, in the family Hesperiidae, are best viewed as
‘sisters’ to the rest of the butterflies.
Their characteristics place them somewhere between the butterflies and
the moths [1].
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) feeding on Pluchea odorata |
Several Skippers that frequent local gardens belong
to the sub-family Hesperiinae - the folded-wing skippers. We discussed this group – and the Umber
Skipper - last month: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2016/07/umber-skipper-butterfly-poanes-melane.html.
Another locally common member
is the Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus, which is flying right now in Mother
Nature’s Backyard. The scientific name
is pronounced ‘hi-lee-FY-luh FY-lee-us’
Fiery
Skippers are native to Southern California and beyond. Their range is limited by cold winters, so the
year-round range is limited to warmer areas like Southern United States, Southern California, the West Indies and Central
America south to Argentina and Chile.
But they commonly stray further north (and to higher elevations),
creating yearly colonies even as far north as northern California, the lower
Mid-west and southern New England. They are very common in western Los Angeles
County gardens, fields, parks and other grassy places.
The genus
Hylephila, which is largely neotropical in range, contains
21 species. All look somewhat similar to
the Fiery Skipper: blotched yellow-orange and black on their upper sides and
paler yellow with dark spots on their undersides. In all, the females are duller colored, with more dark areas than the males.
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) on Red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande var. rubescens). Note very short antennae |
Fiery
Skippers are smaller butterflies, with a wingspan ranging from about 1.25 to
1.5 inches (approximately 3 to 4 cm.).
They have stout, hairy bodies with a tapered abdomen (tail segment) and
very short, distinctive antennae (see above). Their large, dark eyes contrast
strongly in their yellow-white faces. They
perch with their wings either closed or, more commonly, with both the hind and
forewings visible. Fortunately, they can
be easily photographed.
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - typical wing positions when perched |
Male and
female Fiery Skippers have slightly different coloration. The males are the Fiery ones. One can’t help but photograph the males - they
are just so attractive! Amongst all the
photographs of Fiery’s I’ve taken, the vast majority are of males (sorry, ladies!). We’ll try to do better in the future.
Not
surprisingly, there are differences in coloration across the species’ wide
range [2]. If you live outside Western
Los Angeles County, your Fiery’s may look different from ours. But Hylephila
phyleus males are always more brightly
colored. The overall impression of the male is of a small, bright yellow-orange
butterfly with black streaks; of the female, a dark brown Skipper with some
yellow-orange blotches.
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) - comparison of males & females |
In local
specimens, the underside of both males and females is a pale buff to light yellow-orange,
with the males being more orange and females more buff. The males have a small number of small, irregular
brown spots. The underside of the females is paler and has
a series of light brown checks (see below). The female underside could be mistaken for
the less common Sandhill Skipper (Polites
sabuleti), although the Sandhill has more distinctive and darker checks (at
least in our gardens).
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - female) compared to Sandhill Skipper (Polites sabuleti) |
The
upperside of males has a ‘fiery’ appearance; bright to light yellow-orange
background with wide black wing margins outlining the ‘flames’ (see above). The males also have a distinctive, dark brown
band (stigmata), which distinguishes them from other local bright orange
Skippers (see below). A great way to
see the details – and appreciate the beauty – of butterflies is to photograph
them. For suggestions on photographing
insects see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2015/07/life-friendly-gardening-photographing.html
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - distinctive band-like stigmata |
The
upperside of females is darker – brown to almost black – with an irregular band
of orange blotches. The orange is paler
than that of the males. From the
upperside, females might be mistaken for the rarer (in gardens) Field Skipper/ Satchem
(Atalopedes campestris). But in our gardens, where the Fiery Skippers far
out-number the Satchems, a dark brown Skipper with orange blotches is usually a
Fiery female.
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - nectaring on Yarrow (Achillea millefolia) |
The
bodies of both sexes are covered in long, golden hairs. The lower ‘face’ and underside of the body
are light gray or white. The legs are
yellow or buff. The proboscis (tongue)
used for feeding is dark (see above).
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| Old, tattered Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) |
In colder
climates, Fiery Skippers die off in the winter.
At lower elevations in S. California, they can be seen most of the year
- though in reduced numbers during the colder months. Peak months in our gardens are late June
through September. Several broods hatch
each year in most parts of the species’ range.
So you will see fresh young butterflies and older, tattered ones, at the
same time.
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - perched on sedge |
In
summer, males perch on grass or flowers, waiting for receptive females. Their bright colors, and the scent of
pheromones (released from the stigmata) attract the females. Adults are often found in groups of 10 or
more at a given site.
Adult
Fiery Skippers can also be seen feeding at many types of flowers. They seem to particularly favor the many
small flowers of the Mint and Sunflower Families and the native
Buckwheats. The best Skipper plants in
our gardens are the Monardellas, Yarrow, Grindelias, Senecios, Pluchea, Goldenrods and all of the
Buckwheats (Eriogonum species). They also utilize many non-native garden
flowers. You will even see them in
vegetable gardens!
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - feeding on Seacliff (Dune) buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) |
The Hylephila phyleus larvae,
like those of other ‘Grass Skippers’, eat grass. They utilize a number of native and
non-native grasses; where there is any type of lawn or weedy grass, there will
likely be Fiery Skippers. Eggs are
usually laid on the underside of grass leaves, but may also be laid on other
plants. The caterpillars tie the edges
of a grass leaf together, creating a protective shelter. You may see these ‘tents’ in your grass, but
they are easy to overlook.
The caterpillars themselves are tan to green, less
than about an inch, striped and with a large, dark head. They blend in pretty well with the grasses on
which they feed. You’ll have to look hard
to find them.
For more good pictures of Fiery Skipper, including their larvae, see:
- http://nathistoc.bio.uci.edu/lepidopt/hesper/fiery.htm
- http://www.butterfliesofamerica.com/hylephila_p_phyleus.htm
- http://www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/html/phyleus.html
- http://socalbutterflies.com/hesperiidae_html/fiery_skipper.htm
- http://bugguide.net/node/view/406
- http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/butterfly/Hylephila/phyleus
- http://homeorchard.ucanr.edu/?blogtag=Hylephila%20phyleus&blogasset=45538
- http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/construct-species-page.asp?sp=fiery-skipper
- http://ataxus.com/ak5t/hawaii/hi_phyl.htm
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| Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus - male) - feeding on Seacliff (Dune) buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) |
We hope you’ll look for Fiery Skippers in your
garden or other outdoor places. They are
very active this time of year. Though
small, they are beautiful and fun to watch.
Happy viewing!
For more on butterfly gardening see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2012/06/butterfly-gardens.html
For more on local garden insects see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2016/07/insect-postings-mother-natures-backyard.html
_____________________
2. Butterflies
and Moths of North America - http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hylephila-phyleus
We encourage your comments below. If you have questions about Fiery Skipper
butterflies or other gardening topics you can e-mail us at : mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
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