Ottoe Skipper
Hesperia ottoe W.H. Edwards, 1866
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Upperside is bright brownish orange; male has narrow black edging on the outer margins of both wings, female is brighter with diffuse borders. Stigma on male forewing has black or gray felt. Underside of hindwing is yellow-orange; no markings in the male, sometimes with faint markings in the female.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 11/16 inches (3.2 - 4.3 cm).
Life History: Adults are strong fliers. Males perch near the host plants all day to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly at the base of a grass stem. In Minnesota eggs may be laid on the flowers of Echinacea angustifolia; the young caterpillars must drop off the flower and find a host plant to eat. Caterpillars live in a nest of leaves tied with silk, and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Fall witchgrass (Leptoloma cognatum), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), and other grasses.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of green and common milkweeds, yellow prickly pear, vetch, alfalfa, bush houstonia, purple coneflower, leadplant, compassplant, sunflower, and blazing star.
Habitat: Native tall-grass prairie.
Range: Southern Manitoba and eastern Montana south along the high plains to north Texas; east through Nebraska and Kansas to central Illinois and southwest Michigan.
Conservation: Conversion of tall-grass prairie to agricultural use has greatly reduced the habitat and numbers of the Ottoe Skipper.
NCGR: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management Needs: Populations of this skipper should be conserved wherever found. Care should be taken in habitat management. Use of fire as a tool should be discouraged.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 181 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 14, 2005
Submitted by: stevekohler (Steve Kohler)
Region: Richland County, Montana, United States
Verified by: stevekohler (Steve Kohler)
Verified date: Jan 23, 2008
Observation date: Jun 19, 1962
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: St. Clair County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier (Heitzman, J.R.)
Verified date: Mar 12, 2007
Observation date: Jul 07, 1984
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Woller, D.A.)
Region: Holt County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Phillip E. Koenig (Phillip Koenig)
Verified date: Mar 12, 2007
Observation date: Aug 22, 1915
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Greene County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Phillip E. Koenig (Phillip Koenig)
Verified date: Mar 12, 2007
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Custer County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Dewey County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Webster County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Grant County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Howard County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Roger Mills County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Pipestone County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Scott County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Custer County, Montana, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Thomas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Slope County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Morton County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Garden County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Douglas County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Clinton County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Barry County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Harding County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: legacy.verifier
Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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