Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies... Arctic Skipper
Arctic Skipper
Carterocephalus palaemon
The Arctic Skipper is one of the early butterflies to emerge in the spring. Its numbers can vary in different years. 2008 provided many Arctic Skipper sightings both in Crex Meadows and at my home in Minnesota.
The Arctic Skipper is also found in Europe where it is called the Checkered Skipper.
Picture on right taken June 17, 2008
Once seen, the Arctic Skipper coloring will not be confused with other species of butterflies.
The Arctic Skipper appears as very dark (chocolate brown) above with orange spotting that may appear circular and blockish in shape.
The underside of this skipper is tan with dark shaped markings outlining varied shapes on the upper wing and white shapes on the lower wing.
There is no skipper in Wisconsin with similar markings.
Picture on left taken June 17, 2008.
The Checkered (arctic) Skipper became extinct in England but populations remain in other parts of Europe.
A re-introduction of Checkered (arctic) skippers is underway with adult specimens from Scotland released in selected locations in England. Breeding has been recorded but it is unknown if this will continue in the long term.
Picture on right taken June 1, 2007
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).
Caterpillar hosts: Grasses including purple reedgrasse and probably others.
Females lay eggs singly on leaves of the host plant. Caterpillars live and feed within nests of silked-together leaves.
Habitat: Glades and openings in heavily forested woods, moist meadows, and streamsides. These photos were taken roadside not far from a sedge marsh and bordered between the marsh and the road with medium growth forest.
Picture taken June 1, 2007
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Hesperiidae | (Skippers) |
| Subfamily | Heteropterinae | (Intermediate Skippers) |
| Genus | Carterocephalus | |
| Species | palaemon | (Arctic Skipper) |
Below is a location map where I have spotted Arctic Skippers on Crex Meadows. If the map is not showing, you do not have javascript enabled on your computer.