Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly:  Wingspan: 1½ - 2 inches (3.8 - 4.1 cm). UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) of both fore- and hindwings is brown which contrasts with iridescent blue/green of body and wing bases.  Several glassy white, somewhat squarish to hour-glass-shaped spots occur in outer half of forewing. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) is brown with white spots on forewing.  Hindwing has dark bands and brownish blotches. Hindwing margins bordered in white. Two long (½ inch) dark brown/black tails extend from hindwings.

ID Tip: Look for iridescent blue/green on upper surface.  Keep in mind that LTS's with missing tails may be confused with other species.

Egg:  Pale yellow.  Placed singly or in short stacks on underside of host leaves (usually legumes). 

Caterpillars: Yellow/green with a thin black middorsal line that runs from just behind the head to the tail end.  A broader subdorsal, yellow longitudinal stripe runs the length of the body. Distinctive orange splash on rear. Head is reddish with black markings that create a pair of red eyespots. Collar brown. Front three pairs of legs (thorax) are brown; first pair darker than other two.  Legs on mid-body (prolegs) are orange. 

Chrysalis: Predominately brown with shadings of blue and yellow and a powdery white surface. Probably does not over-winter in Alabama.

No other skipper in Alabama has iridescent blue/green on its upper wings and body! These flashy skippers avidly visit flowers for nectar, and often hang upside-down to feed.  They are frequent garden visitors.  In most years, Long-tails move into Alabama from Florida, usually appearing by early summer.  They colonize as far north as the New England States, where the arrival of cold weather sees them start a southward movement to warmer climates. They cannot tolerate freezing temperatures in any stage of their life cycle. Long-tailed Skippers overwinter as reproductively arrested adults in tropical and subtropical areas. They probably do not over-winter in Alabama.

One of the reasons Long-tailed Skippers are so successful is their use of a wide variety of leguminous host plants, including those that grow in gardens.   Females lay their eggs singly or in short stacks on new growth or the undersides of leaves. Early instar caterpillars hide underneath small flaps that they have chewed, folded, and then secured with silk.  Because multiple eggs may be deposited on one leaf, several flaps may surround the edges.  Later instars tie whole leaves together, sometimes incorporating leaves from nearby plants into their shelters. If agitated, these caterpillars will spit a bitter, green fluid that discourages predators.  They also have large false eyespots that may also intimidate attackers.  

The Long-tailed Skipper is distributed from Argentina northward through Central America, the West Indies, and Mexico to southeastern Texas and along the Gulf coastal states to Florida. It is likely that this widespread species will eventually be documented in every county in Alabama, where they are welcome and frequent garden visitors.

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: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

  • 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):

  • 201 - Baldwin - 9/25/2023
  • 76 - Baldwin - 11/4/2020
  • 71 - Baldwin - 9/28/2022
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
11 1 1 11 1 7 1 1 5 1 1 27 6 1 4 3 4 41 80 76 28 51 74 144 91 260 166 239 284 664 441 520 251 281 224 99 44 34 14 14 9 18

Habitat

Open, disturbed fields; roadsides; utility right-of-ways; forest edges; parks; and gardens

Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
Country road lined with Tick Trefoil
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Paulette Haywood Ogard
Disturbed area
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Paulette Haywood Ogard
Utility right-of-way
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
Forest edge

Host and Nectar Plants

Long-tailed Skippers use many legumes, both wild and cultivated, as their caterpillar hosts. In addition to the plants documented in Alabama, other states report that larvae feed on Hogpeanut (Amphicarpa bracteata) and Soybean (Glycine max).  The widespread cultivation of soybeans may even be responsible for a resurgence of Long-tailed Skipper populations in the Northeast. Caterpillars are sometimes called bean leaf rollers.

The list that follows indicates the plant species that have been documented in Alabama.  In addition to the list below, cultivated pole beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) have also been verified.  Many other legumes are probably used.

 

 

 

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

Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
Tick Trefoil
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
Tick trefoil spp.
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
American Wisteria
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Fred Nation/AL Plant Atlas
Spurred Butterfly Pea
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Fred Nation/AL Plant Atlas
Chinese Wisteria
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© AL Plant Atlas
Kudzu
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© AL Plant Atlas
Kudzu
Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Paulette Haywood Ogard
Thicket Bean

Landscaping Ideas

Make sure that your landscape provides plenty of late summer and fall-blooming flowers for butterflies like Long-tailed Skippers.  These include Joe Pye weeds, gayfeathers/blazing stars, Mistflower, ironweeds, asters, and goldenrods.

American Wisteria and Thicket Bean are lovely additions to an arbor or trellis and provide food for several skipper caterpillars including Long-Tailed. Note: Chinese Wisteria and Kudzu are highly invasive, non-native plants that should never be voluntarily added to the landscape.

Long-tailed Skipper
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
County
© Sara Bright
American Wisteria climbing on deck railing