Salt Marsh Skipper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1¼ - 1½ inches (3.5-3.9 cm). This dark brown skipper is readily identified by its yellowish veins and distinctive white bar at the end of the cell on the underside of the hindwings. The forewings are pointed. There are a few pale spots on the upperside of the forewings.

Egg: Pale white eggs are laid singly on host.

Caterpillar: The body is green with a sublateral white stripe. The body tapers toward the greenish head and toward the tail end. Lives exposed on leaves.

Chrysalis: Slender and green with pointed head.

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Salt Marsh Skippers nectar from a variety of flowers including Creeping Frogfruit (Phyla nodiflora),

In Alabama, Salt Marsh Skipper is found only in coastal salt and brackish marshes in Baldwin and Mobile counties. Elsewhere, it is distributed along salt and brackish marshes extending from Long Island, NY south to southern Florida and west along the Gulf coastal states to south Texas.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Baldwin, Mobile

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

6 - Baldwin - 10/19/2019
5 - Baldwin - 9/23/2021
4 - Mobile - 8/12/2012

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
												2		2				1	4		1					1	1	1	4		2		3	3	12	2	5	8

Always associated with brackish and salt marshes, and weedy areas near the coastline. May be found in coastal gardens if they are near its host plant(s).

In other states, the larvae of the Salt Marsh Skipper are know to feed on Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) and Saltmarsh Cordgrass (Sporobolus alternifolia).

In Alabama, Saltmarsh Cordgrass/Smooth Cordgrass has been confirmed. Saltgrass may also be used.

Saltmarsh Cordgrass/Smooth Cordgrass (Sporobolus alterniflorus) - Host Plant

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Salt Marsh Skipper (Panoquina panoquin) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.