Woodland Skipper
Ochlodes sylvanoides (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Upperside is orange with toothed brown borders. Forewing has a black stigma (male) or a black diagonal band (female). Hindwing has a large reddish patch. Underside varies from yellow to reddish to brown; hindwing varies from unmarked to having a distinct band of cream to yellow spots.
Wing Span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).
Life History: Males perch on ridges in California and in gullies in Colorado to await females. First-stage caterpillars hibernate, complete their feeding the next spring, diapause in the summer as fully-grown caterpillars, then pupate and emerge as adults in the fall.
Flight: One brood from late July-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), canary grass (Phalaris), wildrye (Elymus), and wheatgrass (Agropyron).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Grassy areas in chaparral, sagebrush, woodland, gardens, and small streams.
Range: Very common. British Columbia south to southern California; east to Montana, Colorado, and Arizona.
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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 73 - 96 of 941 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 17, 2019
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Feb 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 25, 2020
Submitted by: flyinganvil
Region: King County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jan 01, 2023
Observation date: Aug 05, 2022
Submitted by: dkrogstad
Region: Flathead County, Montana, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Dec 06, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: miggydog
Region: Utah County, Utah, United States
Verified by: RaisingButterfl...
Verified date: Nov 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 15, 2022
Observation date: Aug 16, 2022
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 13, 2022
Observation date: Sep 05, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 03, 2022
Observation date: Aug 06, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Garfield County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 24, 2021
Submitted by: Vickie J Anderson
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Aug 26, 2022
Submitted by: dlister
Region: Yellowstone County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Sep 19, 2022
Submitted by: frogbandit
Region: Spokane County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Sep 21, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2017
Submitted by: CrashKaBoom
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Aug 04, 2019
Submitted by: Liz Osborn
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 01, 2019
Submitted by: Liz Osborn
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 02, 2019
Submitted by: Aat
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Christensen
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 12, 2019
Submitted by: Aat
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 17, 2019
Submitted by: Aat
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2020
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Sep 08, 2022
Submitted by: EvSherr
Region: Lane County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 09, 2022
Observation date: Aug 15, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Douglas County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
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