Fiery Skipper
Hylephila phyleus (Drury, 1773)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Antennae are very short. Male wide black stigma. Underside of the hindwing is scattered with small black spots. Female: Upperside is dark brown with a very irregular orange band. Underside of hindwing is pale brown with paler checks.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches (3.2 - 3.8 cm).
Life History: Males perch in lawns and grassy swales to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly under leaves and also on other plants and objects. Caterpillars eat leaves and roll and tie them to make shelters which lie horizontally in the sod.
Flight: Several broods from May-August in the north, all year in Florida and South Texas.
Caterpillar Hosts: Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), crabgrass (Digitaria), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and other grasses.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of a variety of plants including sweet pepperbush, swamp milkweed, asters, sneezeweed, knapweed, ironweed, and thistles.
Habitat: Sunny, open areas such as fields, lawns, gardens, levees, roadsides, and second-growth scrub.
Range: Southern United States south through the West Indies and Central America to Argentina. Cannot survive harsh winters; each summer this skipper may stray and re-colonize north to northern California, southern Minnesota, southern Ontario, and southern New England.
Conservation: Not required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Alternate Scientific Names:
Hylephia phyleus
Hylephilia phyleus
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 3296 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 23, 2019
Submitted by: Loret_in_Florida
Region: Osceola County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 24, 2019
Observation date: Oct 22, 2018
Submitted by: stomlins701
Region: Elmore County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 18, 2019
Observation date: Feb 24, 2019
Submitted by: Raul Delgado
Region: Texas, United States, Webb County
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 10, 2019
Observation date: Feb 07, 2019
Submitted by: rogerashton
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Feb 28, 2019
Observation date: Oct 02, 2017
Submitted by: curtis.lehman (Susan Olcott)
Region: Brooke County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Feb 16, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2017
Submitted by: KateTweedy
Region: Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Feb 05, 2019
Observation date: Nov 05, 2018
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jan 27, 2019
Observation date: Sep 01, 2018
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Jan 24, 2019
Observation date: Sep 12, 2018
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 14, 2019
Observation date: Dec 04, 2018
Submitted by: Englishman
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 07, 2018
Observation date: Oct 17, 2018
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Bleckley County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Dec 07, 2018
Observation date: Dec 04, 2018
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 06, 2018
Observation date: Nov 25, 2018
Submitted by: the janitors son
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 26, 2018
Observation date: Oct 12, 2018
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Orange County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 24, 2018
Observation date: Oct 10, 2018
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 17, 2018
Observation date: Oct 13, 2018
Submitted by: marley
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 15, 2018
Observation date: Aug 10, 2018
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 12, 2018
Observation date: Oct 10, 2018
Submitted by: JameGumb
Region: Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Nov 08, 2018
Observation date: Nov 03, 2018
Submitted by: HSVGardenGirl
Region: Saline County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Nov 05, 2018
Observation date: Aug 27, 2018
Submitted by: magnolyah
Region: Georgia, Towns County, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Nov 04, 2018
Observation date: Oct 28, 2018
Submitted by: cosmic_cat
Region: Texas, United States, Upshur County
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 28, 2018
Observation date: Oct 11, 2018
Submitted by: tnjbodker
Region: Knox County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Oct 20, 2018
Observation date: Oct 18, 2018
Submitted by: ChrissyL
Region: Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Oct 20, 2018
Observation date: Oct 08, 2018
Submitted by: nrpeters
Region: Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 18, 2018
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