A Trio of Skippers

July is a good time to look for three species of skippers that are poorly represented in the MBS records.  It takes a little effort to find these skippers.

Marshy areas in the southern half of Maine are worth checking for Mulberry Wing (Poanes massasoit) and Black Dash (Euphyes conspicua).  Areas with Swamp Milkweed are particularly good for these two species.

The Mulberry Wing is the easier of the two to identify.  The large, yellow patch on the hind underwing resembles an airplane.  The rest of the wings are a deep red-brown.  This Mulberry Wing was photographed in Eliot, ME.

Hesperiidae Mulberry Wing Poanes massasoit Eliot ME

 

 

 

 

 

 

The same habitat is good for the Black Dash.  This species belongs to the group of skippers called the witches.  Hesperiidae Black Dash Euphyes conspicua Eliot MEDistinguishing the witches is often difficult.  On the Black Dash above, note the yellow row of spots on the hindwing, wider toward the middle of the row.

The Wild Indigo Duskywing, as the name suggests, uses Wild Indigo (Baptisia tinctoria) as its host plant.  However, Wild Indigo does not occur in Maine.

Wild Indigo DuskywingThe northward incursion of Wild Indigo Duskywing into Maine has been facilitated by the introduction of crown vetch (Coronilla varia).  Wild Indigo Duskywings in Maine use crown vetch as a host plant instead of wild indigo.

You have certainly seen crown vetch along highways.  This species is planted on sloping roadsides to prevent erosion. Guilford Maine Crown VetchI have seen crown vetch as far north as Guilford, Maine.  It is abundant along I-95 at least as far north as Bangor.  It is now blooming along the Airline (Route 9) between Eddington and Calais. It’s worth checking local patches of crown vetch for Wild Indigo Duskywings.  We have records of this spread-winged skipper from as far north as Augusta but I bet there are populations even further north.  See if you can extend the northern range of this species.

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