Cobweb Skipper
Hesperia metea Scudder, 1864
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Wings are dark brown or blackish with few light areas. Underside of hindwing has a cobwebbed appearance due to white spots extending along the veins. Subspecies licinus in Texas and Arkansas is very dark both above and below.
Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: To wait for females, males perch near the host plants all day. Females lay eggs singly on or near the host plants. Caterpillars eat leaves and live in nests of rolled or tied leaves. Fully-grown caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from late March to early June.
Caterpillar Hosts: Beard grasses including little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius and A. s. var. glomeratus) and big bluestem (A. gerardi).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of low-growing plants such as Labrador tea, wild strawberry, blackberry, bird's-foot violet, winter cress, and red clover; also lilac, vervain, Carolina larkspur, and wild hyacinth.
Habitat: Dry, grassy openings in woods, pine barrens, oak savannah, open sandy scrub, burned areas, old pastures.
Range: Patchy distribution from southern Maine west to Wisconsin; south to central Georgia, the Gulf States, and central Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 701 verified sightings
Observation date: May 21, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Erik Nielsen MBC et al)
Region: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 1994
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Richard Forster)
Region: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 22, 1998
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (JM + co)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 14, 2000
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Barbara + Rick Walker)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 15, 2009
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon #)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 25, 2008
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (MBC (Tom Gagnon))
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 24, 1998
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd+Cathy Dodd)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 16, 1999
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Gail Howe)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 08, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Gail Howe)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 30, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 28, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (BMB BI (Barbara Walker))
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 30, 1993
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 12, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Mark Lynch + Sheila Carroll)
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 19, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Deedee Minear)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 25, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Gail Howe + Wendy Miller + Gail Rosen)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 12, 1991
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 05, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan)
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 26, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Elise Barry + Barbara Walker)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 17, 1992
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 17, 2003
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Carl Kamp + MBC)
Region: Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 20, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Whelan)
Region: Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 13, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan)
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 02, 2010
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matt Arey)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 05, 1994
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
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