(Pholisora catullus)
Spread-wing Skippers
Appearance: Small, glossy black or dark brown skipper with a row (sometimes 2) of small white spots on outer third of the forewing and white dots on the head. Female has more white spots than the male. Below, forewing repeats the upperside pattern. Hindwing below is solid black.
Wingspan: Small; 7/8 to 1 inch.
Habitat: Open weedy and disturbed areas. Prefers hot and dry places; plains, foothills, montane.
Flight Times: April to September; two broods. Caterpillars of the second brood overwinter.
Larval Foodplant: Pigweed, goosefoot, lambsquarter and tumbleweed.
Did You Know…
As Bob Pyle says in his wonderful book BUTTERFLIES OF CASCADIA, “These (Common Sootywing and Common Checkered Skipper) are often two of the first species to turn up in insect collections, since kids are close enough to the ground to spot them and fast enough to catch them.”
