Little Glassywing Skipper Butterfly – Pompeius verna

Family: Hesperiidae – Skippers / Subfamily: Hesperiinae – Grass skippers
Live adult female skipper butterfly photographed with common bull thistle, Cirsium vulgare

Skipper Butterflies comprise nearly 3,000 species worldwide, 250 of which call North America home. Roughly one third of North American butterflies belong to this family. Skippers are named for their rapid, erratic flight. Skippers differ from the true butterflies in their proportionately larger bodies, smaller wings, and hooked antennae, among many other structural differences.

Grass Skippers, subfamily Hesperiinae constitute the largest grouping, and perhaps the most challenging for those seeking to identify specimens. They are smaller than the spread-wing skippers, and many are patterned with yellow, orange and black. These erratic flyers sit with their forewings and hind wings at different angles – I think the configuration resembles an F-15 Eagle fighter jet. Grass skipper larvae feed mostly on … guess what? Yep. Grasses.

Butterfly Index | Moth Pictures | Moths Index | Skipper Butterflies

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