Silver-Spotted Skipper

Epargyreus clarus — the silver-spotted skipper — is the most widespread and most-recognized skipper butterfly in North America and a flagship species in family Hesperiidae (the skipper butterflies — a distinct lineage within Lepidoptera, sister to the 'true' butterflies). The species is widespread across all of eastern and central North America from southern Canada south through the eastern US to Mexico. Adults are 4-6 cm wingspan with brown wings (uppersides) marked by a series of golden-orange spots on the forewings, and the species' DIAGNOSTIC FEATURE: a single large WHITE-OR-SILVER OVAL SPOT on the underside of each hindwing. The silver spot flashes brightly in flight (as the butterfly raises and lowers the hindwings during the rapid wing-beat) and is the source of the common name. The species is one of the easiest skippers to identify in NA macro nature photography because of the unique silver spot. Skipper butterflies (family Hesperiidae) are a distinct lineage within Lepidoptera — historically classified as 'butterflies' but molecular phylogenetics has shown they form a distinct sister lineage to the 'true' butterflies (superfamily Papilionoidea). Skippers have several diagnostic features that distinguish them from both butterflies and moths: STOUT MUSCULAR BODY (more compact and heavily-muscled than butterfly bodies), HOOKED ANTENNAL TIPS (the antennae have small terminal hooks unlike the clubbed butterfly antennae or feathery moth antennae), and DARTING FLIGHT (rapid, direct, jerky flight — the source of the common name 'skipper' for the way the butterflies dart from flower to flower). The wing-rest posture is also unique: skippers commonly rest with the FOREWINGS HELD UP at an angle while the HINDWINGS LIE FLAT — a 'jet plane' or 'fighter jet' posture not seen in other Lepidoptera. The 'jet plane' posture is one of the most-cited field-ID features for distinguishing skippers from butterflies. The silver-spotted skipper is one of the most-encountered skippers in eastern NA gardens, especially around legume host plants. Larvae feed on woody legumes — black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia), wisteria, false indigo (Amorpha), and other Fabaceae trees and shrubs. Larvae construct distinctive 'leaf shelters' by webbing together leaves of the host plant with silk to create small enclosed shelters where the larva rests during the day. The species is harmless to humans and a major beneficial pollinator.