Checkered Skippers - Eternal Optimists

The Common Checkered Skipper is one of several butterfly species that appear in this area during late summer or fall.  They are residents of areas south of Blue Jay Barrens and cannot survive the cold winters we typically experience.  Taking advantage of warm summer weather, they expand their range northward, often establishing temporary populations all the way into Canada. 

Plants of the Mallow family serve as host plants for the Checkered Skipper caterpillars.  I always leave a few Common Mallow plants growing along the foundation on the south side of the house to be used by the skippers.  This area warms quickly in the sun and retains heat during the day, attracting skippers by the dozens.

I don’t normally find this species still here in November, but with temperatures well above normal and an absence of overnight freezes, the skippers are still going strong.

The prime activity of the day is reproduction.  Female Checkered Skippers are hurriedly loading the mallow leaves down with eggs.

Not a leaf has been missed.  The eggs, although fertile and numerous, have no futures.  Cold weather will soon cause the death of all life stages of this cute little creature.  New individuals will move in next summer to take another try at making this area part of their permanent range.  One day, if average temperatures continue trending upward, the Checkered Skipper could earn its place as a new year-round resident of Blue Jay Barrens.

Gemmed Satyr Egg

Just so no one thinks the topic has to do with eggs of mythical creatures; I’ll begin by saying that a Gemmed Satyr is a species of butterfly.  I’m still trying to get a good picture of a Carolina Satyr, so my attention is diverted every time one of the small Satyrs flies past.  The Little Wood Satyrs have just about reached the end of their run, so any small Satyr I see is most likely to be either a Carolina or a Gemmed.  Most pursuits end with my being outdistanced by the butterfly.  They aren’t particularly fast, but their flight beneath the low branches of trees and shrubs makes it necessary for me to take my eyes from the butterfly and scan for broken off cedar branch stubs upon which I could easily be impaled.  Once you lose sight of the butterfly, it’s hard to reconnect.  I had a little bit of luck yesterday evening when the Satyr I was pursuing came to rest about 20 feet in front of me.

This individual turned out to be a Gemmed Satyr.  I didn’t get a great shot, but it was enough for a positive ID.  I’ve gotten a couple of good shots of Gemmed Satyr in the past, so missing this one didn’t matter.

During the chase, I noticed the butterfly land on and curl its body around a grass leaf.  The larvae of Gemmed Satyrs feed on various species of grass.  I suspected the butterfly was laying an egg.  It remained on the grass for only a couple of seconds before flying on.  I wanted to search for the egg, but I didn’t want to stop following.  I took a picture of the grass clump, so I could find the exact spot later.  I would normally drop my handkerchief on the spot, but the camera was already out and ready to go. 

I was right about the egg.  It wasn’t hard to find once I got close.

The slightly greenish color reminds me of a fluorescent bead.  As far as I could tell, the egg was a featureless sphere.  I guess there’s not much need for ridges or other structural features intended for strength if the egg only has to survive the short period prior to hatching. 

The grass with egg is within inches of the top of the creek bank.  A rather precarious position should we slip back into a flood pattern like those we had earlier.  I’m not sure in what form the Gemmed Satyr survives the winter.  Some sources say it overwinters as an older larva, but a few mention overwintering as an adult.  Which ever it is, I hope it happens in a more secure location than this.

American Painted Lady on the Trail

As I took the mower along the field trail, I flushed several American Painted Lady Butterflies from the grass.  After I had completed my work, I took the time to examine a few at closer range.  American Painted Ladies have been active for the past few weeks and this ragged individual looks like it’s been around that whole time.

This is what was attracting the butterflies.  American Painted Lady larvae feed on the leaves of Pussytoes, Antennaria species.  I purposely raise the mower deck so the plants on the trail are not unduly stressed by the mowing.  Short growing plants, like the Pussytoes, are not touched by the mower blade.  The mower does remove the flower stalks and this causes the plants to spread even more.  The result is a concentration of Pussytoes on the trail that is greater than anywhere else in the field. 

The dense population of Pussytoes draws in a large crowd of American Painted Ladies.

The females do a quick search to select a suitable site for an egg.  I wonder if part of the search may be to determine if an egg has already been deposited in the area.  Discovery of an egg may cause the female to move on to another location that won’t result in competition between larvae.

A single egg is left behind.  I was able to discover an egg on nearly every plant I examined.

The egg is anchored by the long hairs on the Pussytoe leaf. American Painted Ladies have multiple broods through the summer.  The frequency of butterflies seen now indicates that American Painted Ladies may be super abundant later this summer.  This is a common butterfly that is easy to approach and observe.  I’m glad that it benefits by my trail maintenance activities.