Sandhill Skipper
Polites sabuleti (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Common and quite variable. Upperside of male is yellow-orange with dark toothed borders and a sinuous stigma on the forewing. Upperside of female has heavier dark markings and almost transparent light spots; no stigma. Underside of the hindwing in both sexes is yellow-tan with yellow veins, dark chevrons between the veins at the outer margin, and dark spots at the vein ends.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.2 - 3.2 cm).
Life History: To watch for females, males perch all day in low grassy areas. Females deposit eggs singly on the host or on nearby plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and take shelter in nests of tied leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from June-August at high elevations; several flights from March-October in the south and at low elevations.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), bluegrass (Poa pratensis), desert salt grass (Distichlis spicata var. stricta), sand lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes), rough bentgrass (Agrostis scabra), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), and alpine fescue (Festuca brachyphylla).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Alkali grasslands, moist meadows, lawns, salt marshes, sand dunes, sagebrush flats, and alpine fell-fields.
Range: Southern British Columbia and eastern Washington south through California and northern Arizona to Baja California; east to southeastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and northeastern New 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.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 121 - 144 of 503 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 25, 1984
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Humboldt County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 25, 1977
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Sep 10, 1975
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (C. S. Lawson)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 17, 1989
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Elko County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 05, 2012
Submitted by: eal79
Region: Tulare County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 17, 2012
Observation date: Oct 07, 1979
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Nye County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 26, 2012
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 11, 2007
Submitted by: RaisingButterfl...
Region: Weber County, Utah, United States
Verified by: BAMONA
Verified date: Nov 28, 2011
Observation date: Aug 24, 2011
Submitted by: Jdammarell
Region: Lincoln County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 25, 2011
Observation date: Jul 06, 2011
Submitted by: Christian.Nunes
Region: Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: BAMONA
Verified date: Jul 08, 2011
Observation date: Jul 02, 2011
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Tulare County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: May 01, 2011
Observation date: Oct 07, 1993
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: May 01, 2011
Observation date: Oct 17, 2010
Submitted by: plex1ppus (plex1ppus)
Region: Lincoln County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Feb 15, 2011
Observation date: Sep 05, 1967
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Kilian Roever)
Region: La Paz County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2011
Observation date: Apr 28, 1968
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Kilian Roever)
Region: Yuma County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2011
Observation date: Jun 13, 2000
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Coconino County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2011
Observation date: Jul 01, 1964
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Kilian Roever)
Region: Apache County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2011
Observation date: Aug 31, 1968
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Keith Hughes)
Region: Yuma County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2011
Observation date: Jun 20, 1986
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (unknown)
Region: Alpine County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
Observation date: Nov 04, 2010
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Kern County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
Observation date: Jul 12, 1989
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (unknown)
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
Observation date: Jul 18, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (William Bouton)
Region: Inyo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
Observation date: Jul 16, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Jeff Pippin)
Region: Tuolumne County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
Observation date: Nov 04, 2010
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Kern County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 31, 2010
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