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Oarisma garita Scudder, 1872
Garita Skipperling; Skipperlings
Family: Hesperiidae (Skippers)
Species account authors: Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard.
Extracted from Butterflies of British Columbia.
Introduction to the Lepidoptera of BC
Introduction to the Butterflies of BC
The Families of Lepidoptera of BC

Photograph

© Ian Gardiner     (Photo ID #13490)

Map

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Distribution of Oarisma garita in British Columbia.
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Source: Butterflies of British Columbia by Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard © Royal BC Museum

Species Information


Adult

The upperside of both wings is a uniform dark greenish brown. In addition the males have a black patch in the centre of the forewings and often a tan flush to the costal area of the upper forewing. Underneath, the species is very similar to the introduced European Skipper, Thymelicus lineola (Ochsenheimer, 1808).

Immature Stages

Gibson (1910) reared the species from a single egg received from Regina, Saskatchewan. The egg was creamy white and round. The fourth instar larva was 8 mm long and pale green with seven white stripes on each side of the thorax and abdomen. The seventh, subspiracular stripe was the most noticeable and was pure white. Both the body and head had short black bristles.

Subspecies

None. The type locality is "Rocky Mtns., Colorado Terr."

Genus Description


The name Oarisma is the Greek word meaning "familiar discourse" or "loving conversation." The common name "skipperlings," first used by Holland (1931), refers to the small size of these skippers. This Neotropical genus contains six species, of which three occur from BC or Alberta south to northern Mexico along the Rockies and the prairies east of the Rockies. One species occurs in BC.

Biology


The adults fly from mid-June to mid-July in one generation. The single egg that Gibson studied hatched on 17 July, and by mid-September was a mature fourth instar larva. The fourth instar larva is the presumed overwintering stage. Gibson reared the larva on the grass Poa pratensis.

Habitat


The Garita Skipperling is found in extreme southern BC from Okanagan Falls east to the AB border and in the Peace River area as a disjunct distribution. The habitat is undisturbed grassy meadows in the Peace (Kondla et al. 1994). In the south the species is found in undisturbed moist meadows, especially at lake outlets, often in association with C. selene. The species has been restricted to moist meadows for years, but expanded greatly in the late 1990s. The introduced European Skipper occupies a similar habitat and may affect future numbers of the Garita Skipperling.

Distribution

Distribution

The Garita Skipperling occurs in disjunct populations in the Peace River area of BC and AB, then from southern BC to MB south to AZ and NM and extending into adjacent MEX.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS4YellowNot Listed



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