Wetland Butterfly and... Aquatic Caterpillars?!

Least Skipper, Homer Lake Wetland July 20, 2021

I say "butterfly" but skippers have at times been classified as somewhat between butterflies and moths. However, it appears that currently they are classified as butterflies.

As I walk through the wetland now I scare up many of these pretty little creatures. With a wingspan of about one inch, they are quite small, but nevertheless catch the eye with their lovely orange highlights. Part of the "grass skipper" family, their caterpillars feed on grasses and sedges, and this particular species happens to like grasses and sedges that like the wetland environment, thus their beautifying presence among the grasses and emergent vegetation of the wetland.

When doing some background research for this post I was completely taken by surprise to learn that there are actually aquatic caterpillars and moths. I don't know that there are any in our wetland and the least skipper is not one of them, but you can read about the unexpected and surprising 800 or so aquatic moth species in a brief article here in Entomology Today.

Least Skipper, Homer Lake Wetland, July 20, 2021



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