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 30, 2003
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Murray)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 28, 2007
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 27, 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 01, 1996
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Brian Malcolm)
Region: Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 03, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Murray)
Region: Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 25, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Frank Model)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 24, 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 27, 1993
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie)
Region: Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 11, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Alex Grkovich)
Region: Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 29, 2008
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Judy Holland)
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 28, 1999
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, 2000
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Bob Bowker)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 26, 2008
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 15, 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: Jun 01, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon+Nancy Young)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 19, 1992
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie)
Region: Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 20, 1998
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Gail Howe)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 02, 1996
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Dodd+Cathy Asselin)
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 15, 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 16, 1999
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, 2000
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Blair Nikula)
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: May 31, 1999
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 05, 2001
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 01, 1991
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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