Hobomok skipper

Hobomok skipper is a common, medium-sized, grass skipper. It occurs in the United States from Maine to Florida, west to Montana and New Mexico. It is most common and sometimes abundant in the Northeast and the Upper Midwest. It is uncommon in the south except along the Appalachian Mountains.

Adults are active from mid-May to late June, sometimes into early to mid-July. They are found in a wide variety of habitats, including in fields, meadows, roadsides, stream sides, and parks, at the edges of bogs, and at the edges and openings of deciduous woodlands and shrub lands. They feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, including blackberry, common viper’s bugloss, dandelion, downy phlox, henbit deadnettle, honeysuckle, Labrador tea, lilac, milkweed, orange hawkweed, red clover, vetch, and wild strawberry. The larvae feed on various grasses, including panic grasses and bluegrasses.

Adults have a 1″ to 1⅝″ (25 to 43 mm) wingspan. The forewings are relatively squared at the tip. The hindwings are broadly rounded.

The upper sides of both wings are yellowish orange with a broad, dark brown band on the outer margin. On the forewing, the leading edge (costal margin) also has a broad, dark brown band. The black cell end bar is relatively low on the wing. On the hindwing, there is no dark band on the costal margin. The orange patch is crossed with dark brown veins.

The undersides of both hindwings have large pale patches. The dark band on the outer margin is brown to purplish brown. The hindwing has an extensive brown patch at the base.

Females have two color forms. The “normal” form is as described above. In New England, 25% to 50% of females are the “Pocahontas” form. The Pocahontas form is all dark purplish black. On the upper side there are several tiny white dots, and there is a pale cell spot. On the underside, there are a few creamy white spots. Toward the front of abdominal segments two through eight (A2 to A8) there is a subtle brown spot in the subdorsal area.

The caterpillar is about 1″ long and tan to orangish brown with blurry dark spots. The thorax and abdomen are densely covered with velvety hairs. The hairs are short, but they are longer than on other grass skippers. There is a narrow stripe in the middle (middorsal stripe) and another above the breathing pores (supraspiracular stripe). The middorsal stripe is medium dark but distinct, the supraspiracular stripe is indistinct, barely darker than the background color. The head is reddish brown and unmarked. Behind the head, the collar is mostly light brown with a thin dark brown ring at the rear.

Wingspan: 1″ to 1⅝″ (25 to 43 mm)

Fields, meadows, roadsides, stream sides, parks, the edges of bogs, the edges and openings of deciduous woodlands and shrub lands,

One generation per year: late May to late June

The forewings and hindwings are held spread at different angles when at rest.

Grasses, including panic grasses and bluegrasses.

Nectar from many species of flowers, including blackberry, common viper’s bugloss, dandelion, downy phlox, henbit deadnettle, honeysuckle, Labrador tea, lilac, milkweed, orange hawkweed, red clover, vetch, and wild strawberry

Sources

4, 7, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83.

Gatrelle, R.R. 2002. A review of Poanes hobomok (Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae) with the description of a new subspecies from the southern Appalachians. The Taxonomic Report of the International Lepidoptera Survey, vol. 3(8): 1-8. 

Common, sometimes abundant

Superfamily
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.

Genus
A recent genetic sequencing and morphological analysis of the family Hesperiidae (Cong and Zhang et al, 2019) resulted in the creation of two new tribes, two new subtribes, and fifty new genera. Hobomok skipper, formerly Poanes hobomok and eight other “ordinary terrestrial species” were placed in the new genus Lon. The move was not universally adopted. NCBI, ITIS, Discover Life, BugtGuide, and Butterflies and Moths of North America continue to use the name Poanes hobomok. GBIF, NatureServe, iNaturalist, and Moth Photographers Group use the name Lon hobomok.

Poanes hobomok Hobomok skipper

Poanes hobomok, Hobomok skipper, on grass at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., Wisconsin. Photos taken May 31, 2021.

It's often found in grassy areas, including old fields, roadsides, and in my photos, a tallgrass prairie.

Wing upper side

Wing upper side

Wing underside

Wing upper side

Wing underside

Wing underside

Hobomok Skippers
Andree Reno Sanborn

Lon hobomok (Hobomok Skipper)
Allen Chartier

Hobomok Skipper Pollinating Milk Thistle - June 15, 2013
Don Gagnon

Luciearl
6/14/2024

Location: Lake Shore

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., WI

Poanes hobomok, Hobomok skipper, on grass at Barnes Prairie, Racine Co., Wisconsin. Photos taken May 31, 2021.

It's often found in grassy areas, including old fields, roadsides, and in my photos, a tallgrass prairie.

Location: Cass County

Crystal Boyd
6/10 and 6/11/2013

Location: Uncas Dunes SNA