Delaware skipper

(Anatrytone logan)

Conservation Status
Delaware skipper
Photo by Scott Leddy
  IUCN Red List

not listed

 
  NatureServe

N5 - Secure

S4 - Apparently Secure

 
  Minnesota

not listed

 
           
           
           
           
           
 
Description
 
 

Delaware skipper is a common, small to medium-sized grass skipper. It occurs in the United States and southern Canada from East Coast through the Great Plains.

Adults have a wingspan of 1 to 11116 (25 to 43 mm). The forewing is elongated and somewhat pointed. The upper side of both wings is bright yellowish-orange with a broad dark band on the outer margin. The “cell” is a relatively large area in the center of the wing enclosed by veins. The veins are dark and there is a small black bar at the end of the cell. On the female the marginal band is broader, the veins are darker, and there is a dark patch near the base of the forewing. Unlike most skippers, the male has no dark patch of specialized scent scales (stigma). The underside of both wings on both sexes is dull yellowish-orange with no dark markings. The fringes are yellowish-orange, lighter than the upper side and darker than underside.

The antennae are faintly striped. Each antenna has a long black swelling (club) at the tip, and a pale, thin, hooked extension (apiculus) at the end of the club.

The caterpillar is bluish-green or bluish-white and is finely peppered with tiny black bumps. The head is striped black and white. There is a narrow, black, collar-like band behind the head and another on the next-to-last abdominal segment.

 
     
 

Size

 
 

Wingspan: 1 to 11116 (25 to 43 mm)

 
     
 

Similar Species

 
 

European skipper (Thymelicus lineola) is smaller. The wings are less pointed. The forewing has no black bar at the end of the cell. The antennae are shorter.

Iowa skipper (Atrytone arogos iowa) is much rarer. The wing veins are not darkened.

 
     
 
Habitat
 
 

Open woodlands; edges of forests and wetlands; pastures, old fields, meadows, prairies, and marshes; and roadsides and other disturbed areas.

 
     
 
Biology
 
 

Season

 
 

One generation per year: Late June to mid-August

 
     
 

Behavior

 
 

 

 
     
 

Life Cycle

 
 

The female deposits a single egg on a leaf of a host grass. Mature caterpillars and pupa overwinter.

 
     
 

Larva Food

 
 

Grasses, including big bluestem and switchgrass

 
     
 

Adult Food

 
 

Nectar from pink and white flowers, including mountain mint, milkweed, fleabane, and thistle.

 
     
 
Distribution
 
 

Distribution Map

 

Sources

21, 24, 29, 30, 75, 82.

 
  6/3/2022      
         
 

Occurrence

 
 

Widespread and common

 
         
 
Taxonomy
 
 

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)  
 

Superfamily

Papilionoidea (butterflies)  
 

Family

Hesperiidae (skippers)  
 

Subfamily

Hesperiinae (grass skippers)  
 

Tribe

Hesperiini  
  Subtribe Hesperiina  
 

Genus

Anatrytone  
       
 

Skippers have traditionally been placed in their own superfamily Hesperioidea because of their morphological similarity. Recent phylogenetic analysis (Kawahara and Breinholt [2014]) suggests that they share the same common ancestor as other butterfly families, and thus belong in the superfamily, Papilionoidea.

 
       
 

Subordinate Taxa

 
 

Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan lagus)

Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan logan)

 
       
 

Synonyms

 
 

Atrytone logan

 
       
 

Common Names

 
 

Delaware skipper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Apiculus

A thin hooked or pointed extension at the ends of each antennae just beyond the club of all skippers except skipperlings (subfamily Heteropterinae).

 

Cell

In Lepidoptera: the large central area of the wing surrounded by veins.

 

Stigma

In plants, the portion of the female part of the flower that is receptive to pollen. In Lepidoptera, an area of specialized scent scales on the forewing of some skippers, hairstreaks, and moths. In other insects, a thickened, dark, or opaque cell on the leading edge of the wing.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
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Scott Leddy

 
    Delaware skipper      
           
 

Delaware skipper … on Hills’ thistle a favorite nectar of theirs.

 
    Delaware skipper      
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos
 
 

 

 
           

 

Camera

     
 
Slideshows
 
Delaware Skipper
Cory Gregory
  Delaware Skipper  

 

slideshow

       
 
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Other Videos
 
  YouTube Video Project - Skipper Moths
Lakshmi Sastry
 
   
 
About

Nov 23, 2014

This is a rap about the Delaware Skipper A moth or a butterfly, it’s hard to differ
Loves to fly in June and July
Females are much wider than the guys
They’re orange with black marks on the wings
Loves hiding among grassy things
Ranges from Canada to the Central United States
When it comes to mating, the male initiates
Its family is Hesperiidae
Its order is Lepidoptera - that’s all we can say
Loves flowers that are white and pink
Has siphoning mouthparts so it can drink
Its common name is Anatrytone Logan
When it comes to surviving, it’s not like Hulk Hogan
Eaten by spiders, birds, and snakes
When it’s a larva it has certain traits
Green body, black head, and orange behind
Has chewing mouthparts, keep that in mind
Can be found in types of bluegrass
Insecta - that’s its class
Called Delaware ‘cause that’s where it was found
Lives on wet host grasses and close to the ground

Sources:
http://www.gardenswithwings.com/butte...
https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Anatrytone-logan

 

 

Camcorder

 
 
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  Scott Leddy
2015

Location: Fillmore County, MN

Delaware skipper  
           
 
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings
 
 

 

 

 

 

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Created: 6/9/2021

Last Updated:

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