Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

  Sighting 1125309

Draco Skipper
Polites draco

Observation date: July 09, 2017
Submitted by: Thomlinson
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Feeding. Generally cool, but active when the sun was out.
Status: Resident
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: August 07, 2017
Coordinator notes: This is the Draco Skipper - a female. In the high mountains it is perhaps the most commonly encountered hesperiid skipper in summer. It is similar to the Sandhill Skipper and the two were once thought to be the same species, draco at higher altitude and sabuleti at lower altitude sites however, no "blend" population was ever found where the two do come close together in the Arkansas River Valley (northern side of the Sangre de Cristo Mts.). The range of draco is restricted to the higher Rocky Mountains from southern Canada south to New Mexico. The majority the Sandhill Skipper's range is Great Basin (western Colorado to California). It is an oddity in low altitude northern Colorado and is evidently expanding its range eastward (known from eastern Wyoming & W. Nebraska also). Mike
Checklist region(s): Summit County, United States, Colorado