Hammock Skipper
Polygonus leo
Description 1 3/4-2" (44-51 mm). Long-winged; HW curved into a stumpy lobe. Warm brown above, with several square, glassy
white spots on FW disk, smaller pair near tip. Below, FW tip and HW frosty violet with brown bands; HW has 1 small brown dot near base. Purple in sun.
[b]Similar Species[b/] Manuels' Skipper has larger white spots and blue gloss above, more contrasting HW band below. Purple-washed Skipper smaller, has bluish-purple sheen beneath.
Life Cycle Caterpillar yellowish-green with yellow stripes and patches along its sides.
Host plants are Jamaica dogwood (Ichthyomethia) and pongam (Pongamia).
Flight Several broods in Florida; year-round. Fewer broods from Texas westward; mainly late summer and fall.
Habitat Shady glades in hardwood hammocks.
Range S. California, Arizona, W. Texas, S. New Mexico, Florida south to Argentina; also West Indies.
Discussion The Hammock Skipper's name derives from its strict habitat preference in Florida, where it is common. This species is far less common in southern California, but on occasion the fall Santa Ana Wind blows it from the deserts to the coast.
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