Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius [J. E. Smith])
Wing span: 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches (3.2 - 4.5 cm).
Identification: Wings are dark brown. Upperside of male forewing has a dark black stigma; female forewing has transparent white spots. Underside of hindwing has dark and light patches and a violet-blue sheen.
Life history: To seek females, males perch on vegetation a few inches from the ground in the partial shade of forest edges or clearings.
Flight: Throughout the year in Florida and South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Various grasses including St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), wooly beard grass (Erianthus alopecturoides), and Echinochloa povietianum.
Adult food: Various pink, purple, or white flowers including shepherd's needle, selfheal, vervain, buttonbush, and lantana.
Habitat: Forest edges and clearings near rivers and swamps.
Range: Georgia east to Texas and Arizona; south to Florida; south through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela and Colombia. Strays north to southern New England and Colorado.
