Poanes viator
Size:
Wingspan is 1 3/8 - 2 1/8 inches.
Similar Species:
Yehl Skipper
Palatka Skipper
Habitat:
Freshwater and saltwater marshes.
Range/Abundance:
Common to locally abundant in tidal
marshes. Uncommon to rare away from tidal marshes.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from late May until early October in two broods with a gap
between broods.
Larval Host Plants:
Big Cordgrass Spartina synosuroides, Hairy Sedge Carex lacustris,
Reed Phragmites communis, Wild Rice Zizania aquatica,
and Marsh Millet Zizaniopsis miliacea.
Comments:
This large skipper could be confused with the smaller Yehl
Skipper. Usually Broad-winged Skippers are found in good numbers.
In late October of 2004 a small colony of this species was found inland
along Cape Fear River in southeastern Chatham Co., NC far away from the
typical tidal marshes.
The top and second photos were taken in Brunswick Co., NC on June 22, 2003. The bottom photo was taken in Dare Co., NC on September 14, 2002.
