I’ve run into so many skippers over the past two weeks that it almost seems as if Mother Nature is prodding me to send out some photos of them. Since I prefer to stay on good terms with her, here we go.
First, a disclaimer: I know even less about skippers than about other types of butterflies. One reason is that they aren’t as bright and colorful as many other species, which means I don’t have quite as intense an interest in them. Another is that, while they don’t all look exactly the same, many do look quite similar to me — which means identification involves a fair amount of research on my part.1
The easiest way to identify skippers is by their hooked antennae, which you can see clearly in each of the two photos above. The first shows a funereal duskywing2 on alfalfa and the second is a common checkered-skipper on Gaillardia, aka blanketflower.3
There are some very tiny skippers — tinier even than hairstreaks — that are generically called skipperlings. The butterfly above is one of them, a russet skipperling, which I noticed high in the Sandias as it nectared on some onion flowers. Its entire wingspan is only about an inch.
Above, a feeding frenzy — or perhaps a pollination party — equally high in the Sandias. I believe all the butterflies are taxiles skippers, despite the fact that the two on the left look quite different. The upper left skipper is a male (as is the butterfly closer to the right side of the thistle) and the one below him is a female.4 You can also see a couple of yellow and orange bees and a tiny wasp.
The other defining characteristic of skippers, besides their hooked antennae, is their fabulous geometric eyes.
The silver-spotted skipper above is a bit larger than most, and is one of the few skipper species I can identify without resorting to a book or a website. I love the way this butterfly’s proboscis is forming a spiral as it rolls up.
Last and truly least, a garita skipperling. The fleabane flower it’s on is less than an inch wide; hopefully that gives you an idea of how extremely tiny this butterfly is.
I think I have the correct IDs in this post but I’m especially not 100% sure about the skipperlings. Please don’t confuse my IDs with those of an actual authority.
There are entire groups of skippers called duskywings, sootywings, and cloudywings. They all look similar to me.
I took the common checkered-skipper photo last month. It’s the only photo in the group that I haven’t taken within the last 10 days.
Butterfly people are fond of saying taxiles skippers are wildly dimorphic — which just means that the two sexes look dramatically different.
Your attention to details is amazing & I learn about the details to observe in nature, thx!
All butterflies are beautiful - some more colorful than others - skippers and skipperlings are new to me - thanks Lisa!