sachem | skymeadows

sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Skippers (Hesperiidae)
SUBFAMILY: Grass Skippers (Hesperiinae)

IDENTIFICATION: Upperside of male is yellow-orange with a wide brown
border and a large squarish black stigma. Female upperside varies from
yellow-brown to very dark brown, but always has a square transparent
white spot at the end of the forewing cell. Underside of female hindwing
is brown with nearly square cream or white spots.

LIFE HISTORY: Males perch on or near the ground during most of the day
to wait for receptive females. Females lay single eggs on dry grass blades
in the afternoon. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live at the base of grasses
in shelters of rolled or tied leaves.

FLIGHT: Three broods from May-November in the north; four to five
broods from March-December in the Deep South.

WING SPAN: 1 1/4 - 1 5/8 inches (3.2 - 4.2 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon
dactylon), crabgrass (Digitaria), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum
secundatum), and goosegrass (Eleusine).

ADULT FOOD: Nectar from many flowers including swamp and common
milkweeds, buttonbush, dogbane, peppermint, red clover, tickseed
sunflower, thistles, New York ironweed, marigold, and asters.

HABITAT: Disturbed, open areas such as roadsides, landfills, pastures,
meadows, fencerows, yards, parks, and lawns.

RANGE: Southern United States from Virginia west to California; south
through Mexico and Central America to Brazil. Strays and colonizes
north to central North Dakota, southern Michigan, Manitoba, and
northern Pennsylvania.

CONSERVATION: Not usually required.

NATURESERVE GLOBAL STATUS: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally,
though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the
periphery.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS: None reported.

SKY MEADOWS OCCURRENCE:

Note: Due to seasonal conditions in this region, occurrence may vary from

year to year. The designation of occurrence may range over two or more

categories and may vary even during a single season.

Key to Checklist

A   Abundant: Easy to see very large numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
C   Common: Usually each to see good numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
U   Uncommon: Sometimes found in appropriate habitat and proper time of year,
      usually in low numbers.
O   Occasional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times a year, usually
      in low numbers.
R   Rare: Small chance of being found, even in appropriate habitat at proper time of
      year. There are few individuals and may not be present every year.
X   Extirpated: Formerly present, no longer occurs in Sky Meadows Park.