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Polites mystic Scudder, 1872
Long Dash
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

© Norbert Kondla     (Photo ID #74032)

Map

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Distribution of Polites mystic 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

Adults of the Long Dash Skipper can be distinguished from Polites peckius, P. sabuleti, P. draco, and P. themistocles by the characteristics already discussed (refer to those species accounts for details), and from Hesperia species by generic characters. It can be separated from the remaining Polites species, Polites sonora, by its larger size and very different habitat choice. In P. mystic the median pale band of the ventral hindwing is indistinct, whereas in P. sonora this band is crisply distinct. Another species that can be confused with the Long Dash Skipper is the Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides), but the flight periods of the two species hardly ever overlap. When they do overlap, worn females of the Long Dash Skipper fly concurrently with fresh males of the Woodland Skipper.

Immature Stages

Saunders (1869b) described the egg as pale green and slightly taller than broad. The mature larval head is reddish brown and edged posteriorly with white hairs. The body is brownish green and has white hairs like the head. There is also a dorsal line and lateral spots of a darker shade. The first thoracic segment of the larva is pale white, with light brown sclerotization across the dorsal surface.

Subspecies

MacNeill (1975) states that the PNW populations represent an undescribed subspecies. This is a situation analogous to that of the Tawny-edged Skipper. The type locality of the species is Hunters, NY (Brown and Miller 1980).

Genus Description


The name Polites is from Polites, a son of Priam of Troy and Hecuba. Polites was a swift runner, and perhaps Scudder meant that members of the genus were swift fliers.

The genus Polites is Nearctic, occurring from northern Mexico to southern Canada. The 12 species (MacNeill 1993) are well represented in British Columbia, where six species occur. A seventh species, Polites mardon (W.H. Edwards, 1881), occurs just south, in the Puget Trough of Washington, and is one of the few possible species that did not colonize Vancouver Island.

Biology


Adult Long Dash Skippers fly from mid-June to mid-July, and females are present well after the male flight period is over. The species is univoltine in BC. Eggs are laid in mid-July and pupation occurs by mid-August (Saunders 1869b). Shapiro (1966) records Poa species as the natural foodplant, but the larvae will feed on several grasses in the lab (Scudder 1889b).

Habitat


In BC the Long Dash Skipper is known from the Kootenays and the Peace River region. In southeastern BC it is found in wet meadows and near bog habitat where C. selene occurs. This same habitat preference is found in WA, OR, ID, and northwest MT populations. By contrast, the Peace River populations are not associated with as moist a habitat.

Distribution

Distribution

The Long Dash Skipper is found in the Columbia River drainage of BC and the PNW and otherwise from the Peace River region of BC and AB east of the Rocky Mountains to NS, and south to central CO and VA, with disjunct populations in southwestern CO and AZ.

Status Information

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



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