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 705 verified sightings
Observation date: May 29, 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 24, 1995
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Broad Meadow Brook Sanctuary)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 27, 2004
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 22, 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 13, 2009
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Renee LaFontaine)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 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 22, 1993
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie et al)
Region: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 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 25, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Bob Bowker)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 21, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dolores Price)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 30, 2006
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Murray #)
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 (Mark Fairbrother)
Region: Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 11, 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 (Gail Howe)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 26, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Broadmoor BI (Brian Cassie))
Region: Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 23, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Matthew Pelikan)
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 29, 2006
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Bill Benner #)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 11, 1992
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (brian cassie)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 14, 1994
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 19, 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 30, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Carl Kamp #)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 14, 2008
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Sue+Ron Cloutier)
Region: Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 16, 2009
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dolores Price+Elise Barry)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 09, 1997
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones)
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
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