Silver-spotted Skipper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Silver-spotted Skippers are familiar garden visitors where they often have the distinction of being the largest skipper in the plot. They are also frequently encountered in open, sunny habitats that provide nectar sources and legumes, particularly in mid-summer, when populations peak. Their large size and bold, silvery-white hindwing spots make them easily identifiable. Silver-spotted Skippers are very rapid fliers. At close range, their fast wingbeats often produce an audible vibrational sound.

Females place eggs on or near their host plants. Black Locust is a favorite choice, but many other legumes are also used. A newly hatched caterpillar cuts a rectangular flap in the edge of the host plant leaf. It folds the leaf flap over to form a retreat and extrudes silken threads to secure the flap in place. The caterpillar then hides under the flap, coming out mainly at night to feed. Later instars typically vacate their leaf-flaps to construct a new shelter by pulling several leaves together. In addition to their host plant's leaves, they may also incorporate leaves from nearby plants. Hiding in these shelters is a first line of defense, but later instars also sport large, orange eyespots that may serve to startle predators. Final instar caterpillars pupate within their shelters or crawl down into the leaf litter where the last generation of the year overwinters.

This species is widespread, ranging from southern Canada and throughout most of the U.S. Expectations are that it will eventually be documented in every county in Alabama.

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, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, 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

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

High count(s):

76 - Limestone - 9/6/2022
42 - Jackson - 4/24/2024
35 - Morgan - 8/26/2022

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
			11	1				7	11	24	154	125	145	122	241	139	137	168	146	57	43	70	130	194	363	399	667	387	294	211	318	203	118	65	53	15	10	4	5	2	1	1

Habitat

Utilizes a wide variety of habitats including open fields, forest edges, disturbed and abandoned suburban lots, utility right-of-ways, dirt and gravel roads, and suburban flower gardens.

Silver-spotted Skipper (*Epargyreus clarus*)

County

© Sara Bright

Suburban garden

Host Plants

In addition to the hosts listed below, reports from nearby states list Honey Locust (Gleditsia triacanthos), tick trefoils (Desmodium spp.), lespedezas (Lespedeza spp.), and Licorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra).

The following hosts have been documented in Alabama:

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

Landscaping Ideas

American Wisteria (Wisteria frutescens) is a beautiful choice for an arbor, deck, or fence and provides food for Silver-spotted and Long-tailed Skipper caterpilars. Note: Chinese Wisteria and Kudzu are highly invasive, non-native plants that should never be intentionally added to the landscape.

Provide a variety of garden worthy, nectar-rich flowers to attract Silver-spotted Skippers and other butterflies. Like many skippers, Silver-spotteds usually nectar from pink, blue, purple, or white flowers. Good choices include Purple Coneflower and other coneflowers, phloxes, mountain mints, Common Buttonbush, Joe Pye weeds, gayfeathers/blazing stars, Mistflower, ironweeds, and asters.

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus) 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.