Euphyes dion
Size:
Wingspan is 1 7/16 - 1 3/4 inches.
Similar Species:
Aaron's Skipper
Dukes' Skipper
Habitat:
Wet savannas, fresh water marshes, pond and lake edges. It does tolerate
slightly brackish marshes.
Range/Abundance:
Uncommon to common in the
tidewater portions of the coastal plain. Rare to uncommon in the rest
of the coastal plain, sandhills and piedmont.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from early June until early October in two broods with a gap
between broods.
Larval Host Plants:
Sedges including Woolgrass Scirpus cyperinus, Hairy Sedge Carex
lacustris, and Shoreline Sedge Carex hyalinolepis
Comments:
This species is more commonly found than its two similar species; Aaron's
Skipper which is paler orange and Dukes'
Skipper which is brown. Dion Skipper, although rare outside its normal
tidewater habitat, can be found often in or near wetlands in the rest
of its range.
I have seen Dion Skipper as far inland as Falls Lake in Durham Co., NC
and would not expect to find it much further from the coastal plain.
The top and second photos were taken in New Hanover Co., NC on August 23, 2003. The center photo was taken in Dare Co., NC on September 14, 1999. The bottom photo was taken in Tyrell Co., NC on July 02. 2000.
