Eye, Eye, Skipper~A Big Eyed Pollinator

Nectaring on a late season ex-aster

Who could be immune to the charms of the big eyed skippers that visit our gardens all summer and into the fall. Certainly not me! Skipper is the perfect name for these fast, agile, erratic fliers and seem to skip from flower to flower.

Can you see the clubbed antenna?

They look more like moths then butterflies, but, they are indeed butterflies. Skippers are small to medium, usually orange, brown, black, white, or gray. Some are brighter or iridescent colored. They all have those large eyes (even their caterpillar has a large head), short antennae (often with hooked clubs), stout bodies, and three pairs of walking legs. Adults of most species have long probicscises and feed on floral nectar.

Characteristic double V stationary pattern

Although, not as efficient as bees, skippers and other butterflies, play a role in pollinating day blooming flowers. Some skippers are specialist, but, the ones that frequent my garden will visit every flower in bloom. Butterflies in general, tend to favor big, fragrant, colorful flowers with someplace for them to land. Skippers seem to land on the flat composites and even the tubular False Dragonheads and other flowers with perfect ease.

Pollination is incidental! Skippers are there for the nectar. While they're sipping nectar a few pollen grains will stick to their legs and be carried to the next flower on the plant-resulting in pollination! Lucky for those of us who like our plants to go to seed and spread their offspring around the garden. That’s one reason large swaths of flower make sense ~Pollination will be more successful then if you have a plant here and there. All pollinators need to find plenty of food in one area from a wide array of flowers that are in bloom during the spring, summer, and autumn.

Horace Dusty Wing (?)

Skippers are members of the Superfamily Hesperioidea. We have about 275 in North America; many of which are found only in Arizona and Texas. Middle Tennessee, where I live, has approximately 50 different skippers~ and I am thrilled to be able to identify three of them! Thrilled also to be in the company of experts who admit that they have trouble id-ing them~Except in the lab and we aren't going to harm any skippers to get an id!

Male Skippers are often found perching in the sun

I'm not too concerned about not being able to identify them. I do know, that I want them in my garden. They are important plant pollinators; they are part of the garden food chain, as consumers and food; and, because of their sensitivity to environmental toxins they are an important indicator species of ecosystem health. If you have an abundance of skippers and butterflies~you probably have a healthy garden habitat.

characteristic clubbed antenna with hook

Since they are almost all plant generalists and many of them share the same host plants~planning a habitat that will attract butterfly/skippers is not difficult. Almost all of the plants we plant in our garden to attract native bees, are just as attractive to butterflies. In fact, any well designed wildlife habitat will be a perfect environment for bees, butterflies, flies, moths and other pollinators.

Nectaring on Caryopteris-See the proboscis, its long, flexible "tongue."

My favorite plants for attracting pollinators to my Zone 7, Nearly neutral clay soil garden are: Asters/symphyotrichum, Penstemon, Monardas, Liatris, Veronicastrum, Agastache, Solidago, Vernonia, Eupatorium, Lobelia, Asclepias, Pycnanthemum, Ecinacea, Silphium, Tradescantia, Baptisia, Verbesina, Zinnias and Clover
Native grasses and sedges-little bluestem, descampsias, panicums, bottle grass, Carex platyphylla, Danthonia spicata (poverty grass)
Native shrubs- hydrangeas, iteas and hamamelis
Native trees-oak, locust, hickory, cercis, celtis, elm

Epargyreus clarus -- Silver-spotted Skipper on False Dragonhead

You can visit any number of sites on the internet to find out which plants make sense for your garden. I recommend you visit the Pollinator Partnership or the Xercis Society for even more information about pollinators. You can also get my newest 'go to book', Attracting Native Pollinators. It's a fantastic resource, but, you don't have to take my word for it. As Douglas Tallamy says, this book "belongs on the bookshelf of everyone who values the future of the natural world."

Skipper enjoying Verbena bonariensis

Of course, you already know what I am going to say here! If you want to attract pollinators~Never, never, never, ever, use pesticides in your garden.

xxoogail

This post is part of a series on native pollinators in the garden~ Earlier posts and their links are listed below for your convenience.

Part I~Now Is The Time To Bee-gin Thinking About Bees ( here)
This Is The Place To Bee ( here)
If You Could Plant Only One Plant In Your Garden~Don't (here)
Must Bee The Season of The Witch (here)
Go Bare In Your Garden (here)

We can't All be pretty Pollinators (here)

Other bee posts you might want to read~
Count Yourself Lucky To Have Hoverflies (here)
Bumblebee Hotel (here)
Still Taking Care Of Bzzness (here)
My Sweet Embraceable You (here)


This post was written by Gail Eichelberger for my blog Clay and Limestone Copyright 2011.This work protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Please contact me for permission to copy, reproduce, scrape, etc.