Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Most people who encounter Brazilian Skippers find their caterpillars eating garden canna leaves and may never see the adult butterfly.  This is partly because these large skippers are somewhat crepuscular--flying at twilight.  They are powerful aerialists whose wings make a rasping noise as they dart among stands of cannas and nectar sources.  Adults may perch momentarily on a leaf and then dart off with a fast, powerful flight.  They often return throughout the day to individual flowers along a pre-planned route. This is called traplining. Brazilian Skippers have exceptionally long tongues (proboscises) that allow them to nectar at morning glories and other long-tubed flowers. They are the largest grass skipper that occurs in Alabama.

Young larvae cut two slits into the edge of a leaf, fold over that portion to form a flap, and secure it with silk to form a shelter.  Larger, more mature caterpillars roll an entire leaf and tie it together with strands of silk. This creates a tubular retreat in which the caterpillar rests/hides during much of the day. The caterpillar leaves the security of its shelter at night to feed on the leaf portion along the top of its shelter.

In North America, Brazilian Skippers are year-round residents of south Florida, south Texas, and Mexico.  Under favorable conditions, the territory they colonize each year includes southern California, east to the Gulf and Atlantic coast states. In Alabama, the Brazilian Skipper frequently occurs in coastal counties and sporadically colonizes portions of the southern half of the state as summer progresses. Its northern range is yet to be determined.