Dun Skipper

The Dun Skipper is a butterfly that is found in North America and in Canada.  It is also found around the coast and in plains and in mountains.

What Does the Dun Skipper Look Like?

The Dun Skipper is a brown butterfly that has tiny white spots.  It has a furry body and is around 33 millimeters long so it is a small butterfly.

What Does the Dun Skipper Eat?

The Dun Skipper drinks nectar from different plants that are pink, purple and white flowered.  Some of these include the Vicia Americana, the Echium Vulgare and the Mentha plant.

The caterpillar of the Dun Skipper eats sedges including Cyperus Esculentus.

Behavior of the Dun Skipper

The male Dun Skipper has a patch of scent on its front wings called stigma.  This helps them to find a mate.

The female Dun Skipper might have white spots under their wings to help attract the male that is considered to be very plain.

The female Dun Skipper will have one egg at a time on a plant or a grass plant.

The caterpillar of the Dun Skipper will use leaves and silk to make a shelter.

Where Does the Dun Skipper Live?

The Dun Skipper lives in North America and Canada including places such as New Mexico, Washington, Florida, Maine and in parts of Canada.

The Dun Skipper lives in areas that are moist including wooded areas, bogs, meadows, near the edges of streams and close to swamps.

When is the Dun Skipper Most Active?

The Dun Skipper is most active from June to August.  It will have its eggs in between May and September and again in March through October.

More Facts About the Dun Skipper:

• There are four different subspecies of the Dun Skipper and one of them is the Metacomet and is only found in Canada.
• The Dun Skipper is found all over the eastern and central US and west coast.
• The bottom of the Dun Skipper has no markings.
• The egg of the Dun Skipper is pale green.
• The caterpillar of the Dun Skipper is silver and will turn brown and have oval spots later in life.
• The Dun Skipper caterpillar makes leaf tents by sewing together leaves with silk threads.

What Did You Learn?

What is the Dun Skipper?
The Dun Skipper is a butterfly that is found in North America and Canada.

What does the Dun Skipper eat?
The caterpillar of the Dun Skipper eats leaves from trees or grasses and the adult drinks nectar from plants. The adult Dun Skipper likes purple, pink and white flowers the most.

What is the patch of scent that the male Dun Skipper uses to attract females?
The male Dun Skipper has a patch of scent on its wings that is called a stigma.

How does the Dun Skipper make a leaf tent?  
The Dun Skipper makes a leaf tent by sewing together leaves with silk threads.

Where does the Dun Skipper live?
The Dun skipper lives in moist areas that are close to woods, water areas such as small streams, bogs, meadows and swamps.

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