Fiery Skipper - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1 - 1¼ inches (2.6 - 3.2 cm). This small yellow-orange skipper is best identified from the side view showing the underwings. The hindwing has small brownish-black spots. In males, they are set on a backgroud color of bright ornage; in females, the background is duller and browner. Males and females differ in color pattern when viewed from above. Males are mostly orange with some black patches while females are largely brown with some orange patches. The antennae are very short in both males and females. Other species of orange-colored skippers in Alabama lack the small dark spots on the lower surface of the hindwing and have longer antennae.

Egg: Females lay their shiny pale green to turquoise eggs on grasses.

Caterpillar: Caterpillars are variable in coloration; usually brown with a darker middorsal stripe and two darker mid-lateral stripes. Head dark brown.

Chrysalis: Light beige to yellowish brown with a dark dorsal stripe and two dark lines of dorsolateral dashes behind the head.

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Males perch in grassy areas waiting for receptive females to pass by. They are rapid fliers. They may be commonly seen sipping nectar from flowers in suburban flower beds.

The caterpillars, which feed on the grass blades, live in horizontal shelters made of rolled grass blades tied together with silken threads and located at the base of the grass blades and near the ground. This enables them to avoid being eaten by herbivorous mammals or being killed by lawnmowers.

This is one of Alabama's most common skippers and will likely be eventually reported to occur in every county in our state. The Fiery Skipper is an inhabitant throughout the southern United States southward through the West Indies, Central America, and Argentina. During the summer months, it may migrate northward to the New England states, southern Ontario, southern Minnesota, and northern California. It is largely absent from the Rocky Mountain region.

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, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, 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):

91 - Jefferson - 9/1/2012
85 - Jefferson - 7/11/1999
80 - Jefferson - 7/18/1999

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

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The Fiery Skipper prefers sunny, open and grassy fields, lawns, suburban flower gardens, roadsides, and utility right-of-ways

In other states, the following grasses are used for food by the larvae: crabgrasses (Digiteria spp.), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), bentgrasses (Agrostis spp.), and Sugar Cane (Sacchinarum officinarum). The caterpillars have been found in dry fields, low grassy areas, roadsides, and even in lawns.

In Alabama, there is photographic documentation that Fiery Skippers lay eggs on various grasses, but there is not enough detail in some of the pictures to determine the exact species. Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon) has been documented. Surprisingly, Purple Nutsedge (Cyperus rotundus), a non-native member of the Sedge family (Cyperaceae) has also been documented.

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

Provide a variety of garden worthy, nectar-rich flowers to attract butterflies like the Fiery Skipper. These include: Butterfly Milkweed and other milkweeds; Purple Coneflower and other coneflowers; black eyed susans; phloxes; mountain mints; Common Buttonbush; Joe Pye weeds; gayfeathers/blazing stars; Mistflower; ironweeds; asters; and goldenrods.

If you have a lawn in your landscape, consider letting it be natural. The diverse assemblage of native and nonnative flowering plants and grasses typically found in naturalized lawns provides nectar and host sources for many small butterflies including Fiery Skippers.

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) 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.

Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus

Distribution and Abundance

Habitat

Host and Nectar Plants

Landscaping Ideas

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) Photos

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Fiery Skipper Hylephila phyleus

Distribution and Abundance

Habitat

Host and Nectar Plants

Landscaping Ideas

Related Links

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) Photos

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
44	9	8	8		2	14	12	18	11	13	22	19	30	35	41	56	41	47	92	80	128	181	236	396	441	396	675	274	239	230	421	403	391	406	631	404	193	186	218	176	122	27	18	36	25	17	60