Hobomok Skipper

The BugLady is already yearning for dragonflies and butterflies and other flying objects that are larger than the Asian ladybugs, Western conifer seed bugs, and the few rogue mosquitoes that are presently sheltering in her house.

The Hobomok Skipper (Poanes hobomok), a.k.a the Northern Golden Skipper, is a common, early-flying member of the Grass Skipper subfamily Hesperiinae, whose members perch with their wings folded together when nectaring but with their front wings open and their hind wings only partly so when resting.

Wildflower Watch II – Regarding Wild Geraniums

If the first rule of looking for insects is “check the flowers,” then wild geraniums(Geranium maculatum) are the flower to watch right now. Insects perceive UV light differently than we do, and the transparent veins that lead them across the petals to the payload at the center of the flower (they’re called “nectar guides”) are far more conspicuous to them.

Artic Skippers (Family Hesperiidae)

Arctic skippers are not restricted to North America or to the Arctic. They are sub-Arctic, circumpolar/circumboreal, found in northern North America, northern and central Asia and northern Europe. Suitable habitat is low, cool, damp meadows and wooded edges, glades, and trails with sun-sprinkled clearings. Adults eat nectar from wild iris, wild geranium, and some other blue flowers plus a few species of bog plants.

Skippers (Family Hesperiidae)

Skippers are considered by many to be the transitional group between butterflies and moths. They have smooth, knobbed/hooked antennae like butterflies; some fold their wings vertically over their bodies and some fold them flat over their bodies like moths. They are relatively “hairier” than butterflies. About 1/3 of North American butterflies are skippers, and most really have to be “in the hand” in order to be identified.