Home | Wild Files | N.H. Animals | Animals A-Z | Watch Online

Least Skipper - Ancyloxypha numitor

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Ancyloxypha

Description

The least skipper has a wingspan of ¾ - 1 inch. It has short antennae and rounded wings. The uppersides of its forewings are orange bordered by black. Its hindwings are gold with a black border. The undersides of its forewings are black or black with an orange border, and the undersides of its hindwings are a golden-orange.

Range

map The least skipper is found throughout the eastern United States and in parts of Arizona. It is also found in Canada. The least skipper is found in New Hampshire.

Habitat

The least skipper is found in moist or wet habitats with tall grasses like swampy meadows, marshes, gardens, ditches, and near streams. It usually flies low over the grass, usually no more than a foot off of the ground. When it perches, it usually keeps its wings folded.

Diet

The least skipper caterpillar eats grasses like rice cutgrass and bluegrass. The adult feeds on the nectar of low growing plants like chicory, milkweed, pickerelweed, swamp verbena, thistle, white clover, and wood sorrel

Life Cycle

The male least skipper perches in grassy areas and waits for a female. The female lays one egg at a time on the leaves of a host plant. The least skipper produces one to three broods a year. The caterpillar is light green and has a brown head.