Zabulon Skipper
Lon zabulon
This species exhibits extreme sexual dimorphism; males are bright golden-yellow, while females are dark brown with purplish-gray edges, looking like two entirely different species.
- Scientific name
- Lon zabulon
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Hesperiidae › Lon
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Moist deciduous forests, woodland edges, brushy fields, suburban gardens, and shaded riparian corridors.
- Diet
- Adults feed on flower nectar (including clover, blackberry, and buttonbush); caterpillars feed on native grasses like purpletop and lovegrass.
- Range
- Eastern United States, Southern Ontario, Canada, Eastern Texas
- Size
- Wingspan of 3.0 to 4.2 cm (1.2 to 1.6 inches)
- Lifespan
- 1 year (adults live for only 2 to 3 weeks)
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, widespread pesticide use in suburban gardens, and the replacement of native host grasses with non-native turf grass.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. This small butterfly poses no danger to humans. You can safely observe them from a close distance as they nectar on flowers. Avoid touching them, as their wings are fragile and lose scales easily. If one lands on you, it is likely seeking salt from your sweat; simply let it fly away on its own.
The Zabulon skipper ( Poanes zabulon ) (sometimes called the southern dimorphic skipper ) is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States.
Photo: Bill Bouton, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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