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Polites sabuleti Scudder, 1872
Sandhill Skipper
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

© Jeremy Gatten     (Photo ID #3930)

Map

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Distribution of Polites sabuleti 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 Sandhill Skipper is a very distinctive skipper that is identified by the transverse white lines that run perpendicular to the median spots on the ventral hindwing. For BC this is a unique character. If the Uncus Skipper (Hesperia uncas W.H. Edwards, 1863) is ever found in the province, it could be confused with the Sandhill Skipper. The two are not likely to occur in the same area, however.

Immature Stages

Dethier (1944) described the immatures in detail. The egg is light green to blue green when first laid. The mature larva has a dark head covered with fine, colourless hairs. The pattern of the head is distinctive for the species. The body of the larva is dull green and heavily mottled with chocolate brown. The mid-dorsal line is dark chocolate brown. The pupa is initially pale rusty brown with a dark brown mid-dorsal line; it darkens eventually.

Subspecies

BC populations are the nominate subspecies, P.s. sabuleti; TL: San Francisco, CA (Emmet et al. 1998a).

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


The few specimens recorded in BC indicate that the Sandhill Skipper is bivoltine even at the northern limit of its distribution. Comstock (1929) reared this skipper on Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), which is often used in lawn grass mixes. Scott (1986a) found eggs of the Sandhill Skipper on Eragrostis trichodes. This genus of grasses includes several introduced species as well as native ones, but it has not yet been noted in BC (Taylor and MacBride 1977).

Habitat


The Sandhill Skipper is known in BC by four populations ranging from Vernon to Osoyoos. Ithas been found both in natural mesic meadows at mid elevations and in lawns in suburban areas. In WA, it was not mentioned by Leighton (1946). By the mid-1950s it was common in the parts of eastern WA serviced by various irrigation projects (JHS). The WA populations are assumed to have been established after the Second World War. The Sandhill Skipper was not recorded in BC until the 1970s, and is assumed to be recently established. It may be much more widespread in suburban lawns of the South Okanagan than has been reported.

Distribution

Distribution

The Sandhill Skipper is found from the Okanagan Valley in BC south through eastern WA to CA, AZ, and NM.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS2RedNot Listed



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