Long-Tailed Skipper

Urbanus proteus — the long-tailed skipper — is one of the most distinctive skipper butterflies in North America and one of about 4,000 species in family Hesperiidae (the skipper butterflies — distinct lineage from the 'true' butterflies). The species is widespread across the southeastern US (year-round populations), Texas, Mexico, Central America, and South America, with seasonal migration north each summer (the species cannot overwinter in cold northern regions and is re-established each summer by southward populations migrating north). Adults are 4-5 cm wingspan with the species' two diagnostic features: (1) BRILLIANT METALLIC GREEN COLORATION on the body and the inner halves of the wings — the iridescent green is one of the most striking colorations among NA skippers; (2) TWO LONG RIBBON-LIKE 'TAILS' extending from each hindwing (the species name 'proteus' refers to the variable tail morphology — the tails can vary in length and shape across individuals). The species is the ONLY SKIPPER BUTTERFLY IN NORTH AMERICA with prominent hindwing tails — most other NA skippers have rounded or angular hindwings without prominent extensions. The long tails make the species exceptionally distinctive in flight and at rest, and they are a flagship species in NA skipper identification. Adults are voracious nectar feeders on a wide range of flowers (especially lantana, butterfly bush, milkweed, and tropical garden flowers), and are common in southern US gardens during warm months. The species is a MAJOR MIGRATORY SKIPPER — adults migrate north from year-round populations in southern Florida, Texas, and Mexico each summer, with multi-state migration to occupy the southeastern US during summer breeding. By the end of summer, populations have expanded north to occupy most of the southeastern US (especially Georgia, the Carolinas, Virginia), with rare migrant individuals reaching as far north as southern New England, southern Ohio, and southern Illinois. By autumn, cold weather kills northern populations, and the species cycle resets to year-round populations in the southern US, Texas, Mexico, and tropical America. Larvae are known as 'BEAN LEAFROLLERS' — green caterpillars that feed on plants in family FABACEAE (the bean and pea family — beans, soybeans, wild legumes), and that ROLL leaf edges of host plants together with silk to construct shelters where the larva rests during the day. The leafroller behavior gives the larvae their common name and is one of the most-cited examples of caterpillar leaf-shelter construction in NA Lepidoptera. The species is a minor agricultural pest of legume crops (especially beans and soybeans), but the economic impact is much smaller than other major lepidopteran pests of legumes (fall armyworm, corn earworm, cabbage looper). The species is harmless to humans and a major beneficial pollinator across southern and seasonal eastern NA.