Butterfly of the Week: Peck's Skipper

Peck's Skipper

Polites peckius (Kirby 1837)
Status: Common breeding resident

Flight: Two distinct broods in Iowa. Adults are most commonly seen from late April to October. A single early October collection suggests that a partial third brood may fly in some years.

Distinguishing features: This small skipper has a distinctive patchwork of light yellow on the underside of the hind wing, unlike any other skipper in the state. Wingspan: 2.5 cm. (males), 2.7 cm. (females).

Distribution and habitat: Map 180. One of Iowa's most abundant skippers, found in a wide variety of human-altered and natural open habitats across the state. It is often seen along creeks and in permanent pastures.

Natural history: Peck's Skipper exhibits some degree of phenotypic variability in its markings. For instance, the hind-wing undersurfaces on some specimens do not have clear-cut spots but instead form a large yellow patch reminiscent of the Whirlabout (Polites vibex [Geyer 1832]). In fact, the few records of the Whirlabout from the state likely represent this form. While Peck's Skipper has been reared on a number of different grasses in the laboratory, it apparently commonly feeds on rice cut-grass and panic grass in nature.

Questions: What food plants are utilized by the larvae in Iowa? Is the variability in wing appearance (spot pattern, size, etc.) more controlled by genetic or by environmental factors? Are adults preferentially attracted to particular flower colors or shapes?

The Butterflies of Iowa, by Dennis W. Schlicht, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola

Interview with Leigh Adcock, Part 1

In developing the press’s new list in food studies, acquisitions editor Catherine Cocks is talking to people who are active in the field. Recently, she spoke with Leigh Adcock, the executive director of the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network, about her organization and its aims.

Catherine: According to your website, the Women, Food, and Agriculture Network exists to enable women in sustainable agriculture to talk with each other about the issues they face. Why do women need an organization of their own?

Leigh: As in other male-dominated fields, women in agriculture often prefer to network and learn from one another in an organization dedicated to them. Other women-in-ag networks exist for those engaged in more traditional commodity-based farming; WFAN is one of a small number of networks around the United States dedicated to women engaged in small-scale, diversified farming. We are the only one that engages in leadership development and policy advocacy on a national level.

Catherine: What are some of the issues that concern your members the most?

Leigh: Our last member survey showed that most women in sustainable ag are concerned about affordable health care for their families. That was the biggest barrier to success as small-scale farmers. Beyond that, their other concerns are similar to those of other farmers—access to land and capital.

Catherine: Since the informal founding of WFAN in 1994, the local/sustainable/organic food movement has grown exponentially. How has this growth affected women farmers and landowners?

Leigh: As the movement has grown, our membership has grown along with it. When I started as WFAN’s executive director in 2008, we had about 300 members, mostly in Iowa and neighboring states. Today we have nearly 3,000 members from all states and several other countries. Our operating budget has grown as well, as we expand our programming to meet the increased demand for networking, education, and leadership development opportunities for women in the movement. The healthy food and farming movement has been a women’s movement from the beginning—women operate the farms, buy the food, and staff the nonprofits that support the movement.

Sightings of summer tanagers are reliable at Waubonsie and Lacey-Keosauqua state parks in Fremont and Van Buren counties.


The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock

Midwest Nature Quote of the Week

Far below, on the floor of the forest, was a constant, mysterious duskiness where the succulent wood sorrel, twinflower, cornel, and goldthread blossomed with a freshness only possible in untrodden spaces. Among the dark green leaves of the flowers was a soft, resilient cover of moss in which the feet of the wild animals and the occasional Indians settled deeply and gently. There were no noises except the noises of nature, no scars except the scars of nature, no sights except the sights which nature had been exhibiting for countless centuries.

Robert Marshall, The People’s Forests

Recipe: Strawberry Angel Food Cake

Strawberry Angel Food Cake 

1 3/4 cups egg whites                              1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries        1/2 teaspoon vanilla
     (sweetened to taste and sliced thin)    1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 3/4 teaspoons cream of tartar                  
1 1/8 cups sugar                                     

Place room-temperature egg whites and thawed strawberries in a very large mixing bowl with slanting edges and vigorously whisk a minute or two until frothy. Sprinkle on cream of tartar and salt and add vanilla. Starting on high speed and moving down to medium with an electric mixer, beat until it begins to form soft peaks. While continuing to beat, very gradually add 1 cup of the sugar in five additions until the mixture is just stiffening. (Do not overbeat.)

Sift together the cake flour and remaining 1/8 cup sugar several times. With a wire whisk, gently but firmly fold in the flour, sifting it out in five or six additions. Using a clean, dry, rubber spatula, carefully pour the batter into a 10-inch tube or springform pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes--depending on your oven--on a center shelf. (Walk softly in the kitchen while the cake is baking!)

When done, remove cake from oven and invert pan over a soda bottle or other narrow-necked bottle (for better ventilation) for 1 hour before removing cake from pan.

Frost with Four-Minute Frosting beaten with a drop or two of red food coloring to make it strawberry pink. Top with chopped, toasted walnuts and serve with ice cream if desired. Serves 10 to 12.


Prairie Cooks by Carrie Young

Butterfly of the Week: Tawny-edged Skipper

Tawny-Edged Skipper

Polites themistocles (Latrielle [1824])

Status: Common breeding resident. 

Flight: Essentially flies continuously from mid May through September. Probably three overlapping broods: adults are more frequently encountered from late May to early June, from late June to mid July, and from early August to early September. 

Distinguishing Features: This small brown skipper is very similar to the Crossline Skipper (Polites Origenes). It differs by having a small, sharp, sinuous sigma on the upper fore wing in males and an orange patch along the upper fore wing costa in females. Females also lack faint light spots on the upper hind wing. Adults of both sexes tend to be smaller than Crossline Skipper adults. Wingspan: about 2.8 cm. 

Distribution and Habitat: Map 184. Abundant throughout the state in a wide variety of native and human-modified open habitats. Although commonly found in native prairies, it is also often seen in old fields and city parks. 

Natural History: Larvae probably use panic grasses as their Iowa food plants, although other hosts have been reported from other states.

Questions: How far do adults travel from their site of emergence? Does this species avoid competition with other panic grass-eating skippers by feeding at different locations on the plant or at different times of the year? 

The Butterflies of Iowa, by Dennis W. Schlicht, John C. Downey, and Jeffrey C. Nekola

Iowa Nature Calendar

Upland sandpipers circle whinnying calls during courtship flights over grasslands.


The Iowa Nature Calendar, by Jean C. Prior and James Sandrock