Long Dash Skipper (Butterflies of Fundy National Park of Canada / Les papillons du parc national du Canada Fundy)

Long Dash Skipper

Polites mystic

Summary ⁷

The Long Dash or Long Dash Skipper (Polites mystic) is a species of butterfly. The species is commonly found in north of North America and in mountains in the south of North America, in grassy habitats. The grassy areas include meadows, marshes, streamsides, wood edges, and prairie swales. On the top, the species is dark brown reddish to yellowish orange markings. The forewing of the female has a broad black patch at the base. The forewing...

General description ⁸

Most similar to the Woodland Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanoides), from which it is distinguished by the dark marginal border of the forewing upperside: this is obscure and not sharply defined in P. mystic, while O. sylvanoides has sharp, zigzag border with the median orange area.

Distribution ⁹

Eastern BC east to eastern Quebec, south to Arizona and Virginia (Opler 1999, Layberry et al. 1998).

Habitat ¹⁰

A species of mesic grasslands and meadows throughout the province.

Migration ¹¹

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Flowering plants visited by polites mystic in illinois ¹²

Polites mystic W.H. Edwards: Hesperiidae, Lepidoptera
(observations are from Graenicher, Stoutamire, and Luer; this skipper is the Long Dash)

Asteraceae: Erigeron philadelphicus sn (Gr); Orchidaceae: Cypripedium reginae exp np (Stm), Platanthera blephariglottis sn (Lu), Platanthera psychodes sn (Stm)
Insect activities:
exp = explores the flower, but acquires neither nectar nor pollen
np = non-pollinating
sn = sucks nectar

Scientific observers:
(Gr) = S. Graenicher
(Lu) = C.A. Luer
(Stm) = W.P. Stoutamire

Conservation status ¹³

Not of concern in Alberta.

Sources and Credits

(c) Gilles Gonthier, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://www.flickr.com/photos/46788399@N00/841356861
(c) Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/specimen_images/ent-lepidoptera/images/2011_11_18/IMG_107177.JPG
(c) Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/specimen_images/ent-lepidoptera/images/2011_11_18/IMG_107178.JPG
(c) Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/specimen_images/ent-lepidoptera/images/2011_11_18/IMG_107188.JPG
(c) Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://mczbase.mcz.harvard.edu/specimen_images/ent-lepidoptera/images/2014_03_13/IMG_168421.JPG
(c) Phil Myers, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://animaldiversity.org/collections/contributors/phil_myers/lepidoptera/Hesperiidae_M-Z/Polites1727/medium.jpg
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polites_mystic
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31887332
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31887331
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31887333
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28762662
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/32697757
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31887329

More Info

Range Map

iNaturalist.ca Map

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