Attributes of Hesperia dacotae
Dakota Skipper
Hesperia dacotae (Skinner, 1911)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Forewings are stubby. Upperside is golden-orange with blurry dark markings; stigma of male forewing has black felt inside it; forewing of female has a white transparent spot below the end of the cell. Underside of the hindwing is yellow-orange in the male, brown-gray in the female; both with or without a faint band of spots.
Wing Span: 1 - 1 3/8 inches (2.5 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Adults have a low, fast flight. Mating occurs on the first day of emergence, with males perching on low vegetation to watch for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on broad-leaved plants, and the caterpillars must climb down into the grasses. Caterpillars eat grass leaves at night and make shelters of silken tubes lined with grass. Fourth-stage caterpillars overwinter in shelters that are partially underground.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to early August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), bluegrass (Poa pratensis), and panic grass (Panicum).
Adult Food: Nectar from a variety of flowers including prairie coneflower, purple coneflower, blanket flower, fleabane, black-eyed susans, ox-eye daisy, and harebell.
Habitat: Rolling hills of native tall-grass prairie.
Range: Southern Manitoba and western North Dakota to western Minnesota, south to northwest Iowa.
Conservation: Conversion of tall-grass prairie to agricultural use has eliminated most of the habitat of the Dakota Skipper, especially in Iowa. All populations should be protected.
NCGR: G2 - Imperiled globally because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range).
Management Needs: Care should be taken not to extirpate populations through the use of fire as a management tool.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Hesperia dacotae
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Dickinson County, Iowa, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Poweshiek County, Iowa, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Woodbury County, Iowa, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Big Stone County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Chippewa County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Clay County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cottonwood County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lac Qui Parle County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lincoln County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Murray County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Norman County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pipestone County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Polk County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Stearns County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Swift County, Minnesota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Burke County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Bottineau County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rolette County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Dunn County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Richland County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sargent County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mountrail County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ward County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | McHenry County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Oliver County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ransom County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Barnes County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Griggs County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Eddy County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Wells County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Towner County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Billings County, North Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mc Pherson County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Brown County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Marshall County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Roberts County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Day County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Grant County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Codington County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Deuel County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Hamlin County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Brookings County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Moody County, South Dakota, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
