Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper Amblyscirtes aesculapius

Butterfly:. Wingspan: 1 - 1¼ inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Dark brown with a curved row of small white spots on forewing. Two-part stigma inconspicuous. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Dark brown with very distinct white cobweb pattern. Black and white checkered fringe.

Egg: Dome shaped. Whitish; unmarked.

Caterpillar: Green with heavy white frosting; dark line down back. Head creamy with black line around edges and two black lines on face. Collar black. First three pairs of legs (thoracic) pale. Mature caterpillar overwinters.

Chrysalis: Tan or dark brown. Light rings on abdomen. Bulging eye cases. Proboscis case reaches to end of abdomen.

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In the world of easily overlooked and confusing roadside-skippers, Lace-wingeds are standouts. Their lace-patterned wings are unmistakable, and they frequently visit flowers where they are easily noticed.

Life history-wise, Lace-winged Roadside-Skippers are typical of the roadside-skipper genus (Amblyscirtes). Like the others, they are multi-brooded: in our area; there are probably three flights. Eggs are laid singly on cane leaves, and caterpillars make aerial nests by rolling leaf blades into tubes. At maturity, the caterpillar silks itself into the tube, clips it from the plant, attaches it to a secure location on the ground. Using tooth-like structures near its mouth, the caterpillar pulls itself and the leaf tube to a satisfactory location and lightly silks the leaf in place. It pupates, head up, within the shelter. Fully mature caterpillars overwinter within the shelter, pupating and emerging the following spring. Both sexes nectar from small flowers.

These beautiful skippers range throughout the Southeast. They are documented over much of Alabama, in part because they have adapted to a wide variety of caney wetlands, and perhaps because they are so easy to identify.

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, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Geneva, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Randolph, Shelby, Sumter, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Winston

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

High count(s):

200 - Sumter - 9/10/2016
101 - Sumter - 9/7/2021
40 - Hale - 7/27/2014

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
									4		2	3	5	7	16	12	25	16	52	10	2	2	3	8	44	54	176	33	61	27	124	210	250	6	9	4	1	1

Canebrakes, moist deciduous woodlands, swampy and boggy wetlands, wet areas along bottomland stream corridors, moist areas along utility right-of-ways. All must contain cane species.

Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper (*Amblyscirtes aesculapius*)

County

© Sara Bright

Wet ditch with cane

Canes (Arundinaria spp.) are used throughout the range and have been documented in Alabama.

Canes (Arundinaria spp.) - Host Plant

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

Lace-winged Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes aesculapius) 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.