Cobweb Skipper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Cobweb is one of the earliest emerging grass skipper in our area, its single flight lasting only a few weeks in March and April. It is small and easily overlooked, especially since it tends to stay low in grasses in powerline clearings and other grassy areas.

Cobweb Skippers' life history is fascinating and complex. Habitats typically appear "dead" since areas with broomsedges and bluestems tend to look brown in March and April rather than green. Their predominantly brown wings make Cobwebs highly camouflaged. Males perch on bare patches of ground and nectar from early blooming wildflowers. Females fly around host grasses where they land near the base of the plants and crawl among the leaf litter to lay eggs. First instar larvae make a narrow, open tent along a leaf edge where they hide during daylight hours, feeding nocturnally. Later instars live in folded leaves at the base of host grass. As time progresses, they tunnel below ground level to devise a shelter that not only protects them from predators, but also from surface fires. They aestivate there during late summer. When fall arrives, final instar caterpillars prepare to hibernate for the winter in a thickly silked chamber, deep in the center of the plant. Pupation probably does not occur until early spring.

Distribution is spotty, and populations are scattered throughout portions of the eastern and central U.S. The Cobweb Skipper is rare in Alabama with few documented sightings. The narrow flight period may be part of the reason that there are so few records.

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: Cleburne, Jackson, Jefferson, Shelby

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

High count(s):

2 - Jefferson - 4/6/2000
1 - Cleburne - 3/25/2012
1 - Cleburne - 4/1/2012

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
											1	4			1

Habitat

Dry, brushy fields; disturbed sites, often those that have been burned; power line cuts; pine and oak barrens; dry hillsides, and rocky outcrops.

In the Chocolocco Wildlife Management Area, Cobweb Skipper was found in an upland, long-leaf pine reforestation area that had been burned-over. It occurred there along with Dusted Skippers. Suspected host plants (Andropogon spp.) were abundant.