Complete Guide To The Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Images
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How To Identify Common Checkered Skipper Butterflies
- Wingspan: 0.75 – 1.25 inches (1.9 – 3.2 cm)
- Above:
- Both fore wings and hind wings are covered with lots of white spots against a black background and fringed in white and black.
- Females are usually darker than males, with less distinct checkered markings.
- Body and wing bases are covered in fine, blue-gray hair.
- Black eyes.
- Bands of black and white fringe edge their wings.
- Both fore wings and hind wings are covered with lots of white spots against a black background and fringed in white and black.
- Below:
- Both fore wings and hind wings have alternating, jagged, brown and white bands.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph and diagram created by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Pyrgus communis labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph and diagram created by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How to Find Common Checkered Skipper Butterflies
- Flight Season: In North Carolina, Common Checkered Skipper butterflies fly from early spring through fall. Look for them to emerge starting around mid-April.
- They have multiple broods every season, so can be found all summer long until mid to late October.
- They become more common as the summer progresses. August and September have the most individuals.
- Adults overwinter in North Carolina (Glassberg 1999).
- Look for adult Common Checkered Skipper butterflies in open, disturbed areas, like farm fields, roadsides, and parks.
- They live in every habitat except for deep forest.
- Common Checkered Skippers prefer areas with lots of low vegetation and some bare soil, like around road shoulders and in vacant lots (Opler and Malikul 1992).
- Adult Common Checkered Skipper butterflies sip nectar from a variety of flowers. They especially like plants within the Aster family (Asteraceae) like:
- Eastern Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron anuus)
- Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
- Hairy White Oldfield Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum)
- Greater Tickseed (Coreopsis major)
- Bearded Beggartick (Bidens aristosa)
- Common Checkered Skipper butterflies are very active. They bounce from flower to flower with rapid, darting flight and rarely land for more than a second or two.
- They spread their wings when perched so their checkerboard pattern is easily visible.
- Males are aggressive defenders of specific territories (Pyle 1981) and will dart out to challenge encroaching intruders.
Common Checkered Skipper Butterfly Classification
- Common Checkered Skippers are indistinguishable from White Checkered Skipper Butterflies (Pyrgus albescens). The two species can only be told apart by dissection (Daniels 2003).
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
|
Class |
Insecta |
|
Order |
Lepidoptera |
|
Family |
Hesperiidae (Skipper Butterflies) |
|
Genus |
Pyrgus |
|
Species |
P. communis |
Binomial Name |
Pyrgus communis |
