Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus (Cramer, 1775)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Eudaminae
Identification: Wings are brown-black; hindwing is lobed. Forewing has transparent gold spots; underside of hindwing has a metallic silver band.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Life History: Adults perch upside down under leaves at night and on hot or cloudy days. To seek females males perch on branches and tall weeds, and occasionally patrol. Females lay single eggs near the host trees, and the caterpillars must find their proper host. Young caterpillars live in a folded leaf shelter; older ones live in a nest of silked-together leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from May-September in most of the East, a single brood to the north and west, three-four broods from February-December in the Deep South.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many woody legumes including black locust (Robinia pseudacacia), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and false indigo (Amorpha species). Also selected herbaceous legumes such s Glycyrrhiza species.
Adult Food: The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones. These include everlasting pea, common milkweed, red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, and thistles.
Habitat: Disturbed and open woods, foothill streamcourses, prairie waterways.
Range: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually 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.
Taxonomy Notes: Formerly in the subfamily Pyrginae.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 97 - 120 of 11234 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 08, 2022
Submitted by: c4c
Region: Botetourt County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 22, 2024
Observation date: Aug 21, 2022
Submitted by: EddieGarrity
Region: Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 22, 2024
Observation date: Aug 18, 2022
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 22, 2024
Observation date: May 14, 2024
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: May 16, 2024
Observation date: May 12, 2024
Submitted by: Colleen K
Region: Robertson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: May 12, 2024
Observation date: May 07, 2024
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Putnam County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: May 10, 2024
Observation date: May 05, 2024
Submitted by: TomObrock
Region: Blount County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: May 10, 2024
Observation date: Apr 27, 2024
Submitted by: BJane
Region: Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Apr 28, 2024
Observation date: Apr 27, 2024
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Apr 28, 2024
Observation date: Apr 15, 2024
Submitted by: tiki33wv
Region: Athens County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Apr 21, 2024
Observation date: Apr 12, 2024
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Grundy County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Apr 16, 2024
Observation date: Mar 31, 2024
Submitted by: seemayer
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Apr 07, 2024
Observation date: Jun 18, 2021
Submitted by: tiki33wv
Region: Wood County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Apr 05, 2024
Observation date: Sep 27, 2023
Submitted by: Rick Sinnott
Region: Lyon County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Mar 15, 2024
Observation date: May 07, 2023
Submitted by: Ken Cheeks
Region: Richmond County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Mar 02, 2024
Observation date: Aug 15, 2023
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Grundy County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 04, 2024
Observation date: Oct 03, 2023
Submitted by: Rick Sinnott
Region: Davidson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jan 25, 2024
Observation date: Jul 29, 2017
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Sevier County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jan 24, 2024
Observation date: Jun 17, 2023
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Nov 02, 2023
Observation date: Jun 30, 2019
Submitted by: ridgeboy
Region: Osceola County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 24, 2023
Observation date: Sep 23, 2023
Submitted by: Colleen K
Region: Robertson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 23, 2023
Observation date: Sep 12, 2023
Submitted by: Blue Swallowtail
Region: Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Sep 18, 2023
Observation date: Sep 07, 2023
Submitted by: MEW2021
Region: Wyoming County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Sep 17, 2023
Observation date: May 16, 2023
Submitted by: naj.pilla
Region: Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Sep 17, 2023
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