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
Pollinator Week was June 20-26, 2022!
Butterflies and moths are accidental pollinators of many flowering plants. While most species do not have special structures to carry pollen, they do brush against pollen and transfer it to other flowers.
Did you know? The Eastern Tailed-Blue (Cupido comyntas) flies close to the ground and uses its short proboscis to probe flowers of wild strawberry, white sweet clover, and other low-lying plants.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 698 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 25, 2012
Submitted by: vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny)
Region: Cleburne County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: vitaly charny (Vitaly Charny)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Apr 12, 2008
Submitted by: AJ Trently
Region: Decatur County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: stephen stedman
Verified date: Sep 06, 2012
Observation date: May 20, 2012
Submitted by: BarbSendelbach
Region: Orange County, New York, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 08, 2012
Observation date: May 05, 2012
Submitted by: mikeakresh
Region: Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: coreyhusic
Verified date: Jun 04, 2012
Observation date: May 20, 2012
Submitted by: Chip Krilowicz
Region: Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: coreyhusic
Verified date: May 22, 2012
Observation date: May 05, 2012
Submitted by: Cheryl Jennings
Region: Grant County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: May 17, 2012
Observation date: Apr 14, 2012
Submitted by: Cheryl Jennings
Region: Mineral County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Apr 17, 2012
Observation date: Mar 31, 2012
Submitted by: Julius
Region: Monroe County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: stephen stedman
Verified date: Apr 02, 2012
Observation date: Apr 10, 2011
Submitted by: Tommie Rogers
Region: Polk County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: stephen stedman
Verified date: Mar 15, 2012
Observation date: Apr 25, 2010
Submitted by: Jim Brighton
Region: Worcester County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: coreyhusic
Verified date: Jan 16, 2012
Observation date: May 30, 1992
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Mark Mello)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 09, 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 12, 1998
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan)
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 10, 1995
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Brian Malcolm)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 07, 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 23, 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: Jun 05, 1994
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Richard Hildreth)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 22, 1999
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 14, 1998
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 28, 1996
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Cathy Asselin)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 29, 2005
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 21, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matt Arey)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 2002
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 16, 1999
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd+Brian Cassie)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
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