Urbanus proteus
Size:
Wingspan is 1 3/4 - 2 5/16 inches.
Similar Species:
Dorantes Longtail
Habitat:
A southern migrant; look for it in brushy fields,
edges of woods, gardens, and other disturbed open habitats. Also anywhere
with an abundance of flowers during late summer in SC and southern coastal
NC.
Range/Abundance:
Uncommon to common in the lower
coastal plain, sandhills and eastern piedmont. Uncommon to rare in the
mountains and western piedmont. Not recorded in WV.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from mid April until late October in two broods with a gap
between broods.
Larval Host Plants:
Vine legumes and beans including beggar's ticks Desmodium spp.,
blue peas Clitoria spp., and wisteria Wisteria spp.
Comments:
The long tails make this skipper an easy one to identify. The blue-green
cast at the base of the wings and back make it very easy to tell from
the much rarer Dorantes Longtail
which is plain brown from above.
Some years the migration of Long-tailed Skippers can be impressive. In October of 2003, Dennis Burnette reported seeing two thousand of them around the Myrtle Beach area along the SC coast.
I usually find that one or two Long-tailed Skippers will stop to visit
for a day or two in my garden in Durham, NC about every two to three years.
The top and second photos were taken in Orange Co., NC on October 03, 2003. The third and bottom photos were taken in Calhoun Co., SC on October 25, 2002.
