Epargyreus clarus (Cramer [1775])
Status: Common breeding resident
Flight: Multiple brooded, flying throughout the growing season. It is most often encountered from late May to mid July.
Distinguishing features: The Silver-spotted Skipper's large size, dark brown color, medial gold band on the upper and lower fore wing, and large silver band on the lower hind wing make it easy to identify. Wingspan: 4.5-5.5 cm.
Distribution and habitat: Map 5. Found throughout the state in a wide variety of wooded habitats. It was first reported in Iowa from Denison in Crawford County in 1869.
Natural history: The Silver-spotted Skipper is an extremely strong flyer. It is very pugnacious and will even dart at small birds. While Paul Opler and George Krizek (1984) report that its larvae consume a large variety of common woodland legumes, no favored host plants have been recorded in Iowa. It is likely that it eats a large variety of common woodland legumes, such as black locust, honey locust, hog peanut, and tick-trefoil.
Questions: Is the pugnacious behavior of perching adults toward flying intruders part of the courtship pattern pr a form of territoriality? What is the selective advantage of the large silvery-white spot on the vertical hind wing?
The Butterflies of Iowa, by Dennis W. Schlicht, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola
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