# Fiery Skipper

*Hylephila phyleus*

Male fiery skippers are aggressively territorial, perching on blades of grass and darting out to challenge any flying intruder, including butterflies many times their size.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Hesperiidae › Hylephila
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** urban
- **Habitat:** Lawns, gardens, parks, residential areas, and open fields.
- **Diet:** Adults feed on nectar from flowers (such as alfalfa, asters, and marigolds); larvae feed on turf grasses, particularly Bermuda grass.
- **Range:** North America, Central America, South America
- **Size:** Wingspan of 2.5 to 3.2 cm (1.0 to 1.25 inches)
- **Lifespan:** 1 to 2 months as an adult
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Widespread use of chemical cosmetic pesticides and herbicides on suburban lawns.
- **Safe to approach?:** Completely harmless to humans. You can safely observe this butterfly from inches away as it nectars on flowers. It has no stinger or bite; if one lands on you, simply enjoy the moment until it flies away.

## About

The fiery skipper ( Hylephila phyleus ) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae and is approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) long. The males are orange or yellow with black spots while the females are dark brown with orange or yellow spots. The caterpillars are greenish pink with a black head. The caterpillars are often considered pests and can feed on Bermudagrass, creeping bentgrass, and St. Augustine grass.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/ba3ef987-7ca4-425c-8172-2f060abcda6f
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/50340
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hylephila phyleus
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/2611412/medium.jpg (Ken-ichi Ueda, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.