Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1¾ - 2 inches (3.9 - 4.9 cm). The underwings are a striking  bright yellow orange. The upperwings are largely brown with some tawny streaks in male and some yellow beige spots in the female. The head and thoracic collar from above are bright orange. The wing fringes are white. The leading tips of antennal clubs are orange.

Egg: Pale green eggs are aid on leaves of its host plant.

Caterpillar: The caterpillar is streaked with green and yellow. The head is black with white streaks and edging. The cervical shield is black. Larvae live in a shelter constructed by folding over a leaf and tying it with silk.  Partially grown larvae overwinter in this shelter.

Chrysalis: Long, slim, dark brown. Pupation occurs at base of host plant in rolled up leaves tied together with silk.

The Palmetto Skipper is distributed from central Florida to southeastern Georgia and westward through the Florida Panhandle, to coastal Alabama and Mississippi. This is a rare skipper and, for some unknown reason, it is getting rarer as time goes by. Certainly its host plant, Saw Palmetto, is common throughout its range. It was formerly found throughout Florida to the Everglades, but its range has shrunk considerably during the past few years.

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

  • 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 - Baldwin - 9/17/2015
  • 4 - Baldwin - 9/18/2010
  • 4 - Baldwin - 9/23/2021
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 1 1 2 2 10 9 2

Habitat

Most often found in open pine savannah with an understory of Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens); also in sandhills, prairies, and flatwoods where saw palmetto grows.

Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto
Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
Baldwin County
© Karen Chiasson 10/18/2019
Saw-Palmetto
Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto
Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto

Host and Nectar Plants

Saw Palmetto has been documented as the host of Palmetto Skipper. in Alabama.  Throughout this skipper's range, Saw Palmetto is the only known host.

 

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

Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto
Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto
Palmetto Skipper
Palmetto Skipper (Euphyes arpa)
County
© Sara Bright
Saw Palmetto

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