Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Yehl Skipper Poanes yehl

Yehl Skipper (Poanes yehl)

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Butterfly: Wingspan: 1¼ - 1½ inches (2.8 - 3.8 cm). This species has a distinctive sexual dimorphism in color pattern.  Male is mostly orange while female is mostly brown. The upperside of the wings is bright orange with wide black borders. A linear stigma is present in the male forewing. The underside of the hindwings is dark brown (females) and orange or yellow (males). Both sexes have an arcuate pattern of 3 to 5 postmedian cream colored spots near the center of the hindwing.

Egg: Pale white eggs are laid singly on leaves. 

Caterpillar: Head is black.  Body is tannish with light stripes. Lives in a rolled leaf shelter.  Partially grown caterpillars overwinter. 

Chrysalis: 

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Males often perch on sunlit vegetation about 3 feet off the ground as they wait for receptive females to fly by.

This is a relatively rare skipper in Alabama with only about a few documented sightings. Elsewhere, it is distributed from southeastern Virginia west to southwestern Missouri, south through eastern Oklahoma to eastern Texas, and along the Gulf coastal states to northern Florida.

 

 

 

Distribution and Abundance

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, Bibb, Colbert, Escambia, Jefferson, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Washington

  • Map Symbol for Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 years
  • Map Symbol for Semi-Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
  • Map Symbol for Old Sightings Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

  • 5 - Colbert - 9/7/2012
  • 3 - Colbert - 6/4/2011
  • 3 - Bibb - 5/22/2016
County Distribution Map

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 6 4 1 6 1 1 5 4 1

Habitat

The Yehl Skipper prefers open areas in moist or swampy woods in the humid southeastern U. S.

Host and Nectar Plants

No host has been documented in Alabama.

This skipper is thought to use cane (Arundinaria spp.) as its caterpillar host in parts of its range, but other grasses are also suspected.

Yehl Skippers nectar from a variety of wetland plants.

 

 

 

 

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