[TN-Butterflies] Squishing around in the Swamp, Skippers

From: Julius Basham <juliusbasham@xxxxxxxxx>
To: TN Butterflies <TN-Butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:36:41 -0400

Sometimes, when I encounter a Dion Skipper, I have delusions that I might be a Butterfly Whisperer. You can reach out to them with your finger , ever so slowly, and they will happily climb on and sit quite contentedly. It doesn't take very long however to have my delusions dashed, when every other butterfly in the swamp flies away at top speed before I can snap a picture.

Dions have two light yellow rays on the Ventral hindwing. The first one in the middle of the hindwing, does not extend all the way out to the edge, while the second ray at the bottom of the rear wing, extends all the way through. (You might have to stand about ten feet back from the monitor and use your imagination a little bit)

Over the course of the next few weeks, the dark furry hindwing in this Dorsal view, will lose much of its fur, exposing 3-4 yellow gold window rays, separated by strong dark veining, and surrounded by a wide dark border. You can kind of make out where it will be, on the right hindwing of the one shown below.

The Dorsal forewing of the male, shows a glossy black stigma extending about half way through the wing. There are yellow markings before and behind the stigma and the wing has a yellowy orange leading edge. The females markings are much more reduced, and show no stigma.

This little male Dion seems to be a scout each year. Kind of like the way Purple Martins have a few scouts that arrive back at the nesting grounds, 2-3 weeks before the rest of the main throng. He always comes out a couple of weeks early and is alone. If I go back in a couple of weeks to the same spot there will be 6-10 Dions, both males and females buzzing around.

For whatever reason, the Dion is one of those bugs that can actually be heard when it flies. Even without seeing it, you know by the whirring noise, if it has come back and landed nearby. They also have their favorite leaves or sedge stalks that they like to perch on, making it easy for you to predict where they might land next. This early in the season, there are not many nectar sources in the swamp, so they will occasionally be seen on the Red Stem Dogwood blooms that line the edges of rivers , lakes, streams, and swamps in East Tennessee. This plant is also the nectar-of-choice for the Broad-wingeds and the Yehls at this time of year until the Buttonbushes come out in mid-June.
We usually have two broods of Dions here in Tennessee, the first brood small and scarce. The second brood in mid- August is much larger and quite plentiful, sometimes leaving the sedge, to go in search of flowers in nearby fields. Don't be shocked to find one in September, on Ironweed, somewhere near a swamp.
Don't know if it's diagnostic, but its interesting to note the blood red coloration on the underside of the antenna, at the bend in the club.

Sharing similar habitats but different niches are the Broad-wingeds and the Yehls. Both of these species also have one ray through the mid ventral hindwing, but don't have the lower ray as in the Dion.
These two species can look amazingly similar in their coloration, markings and habitat, but there are some subtle differences. This male Yehl Skipper has 3 yellow oval dots, with the top two dots separated by a nice yellow ray. The female Yehls usually have snow white oval dots.

The Broad-wingeds have the same 3 dots (more rectangular than oval shaped), with a similar ray, but the wings are usually much larger and flecked with lots of brown scales, giving them a much dirtier look.

I've found that one of the easiest ways to quickly tell the difference between these two is to forget the markings, and look at the size, shape, and the long turned up nose of the Broad-winged.
The Yehl is sized and shaped the same as any of the classic grass Skippers. (Sachem etc.)
The Broad-winged is big and long, (like a limo) with oversized wings. It has a very flat forehead and a very prominent snooty nose, as in the one pictured below. Even though technically the Broad-winged is a grass skipper, it just doesn't have that familiar shape and you'll sense that something is different when you see one.

The inner wing markings are very similar, variable, and difficult except for the male Yehl which has a very nice black stigma.

Even though most field guides show a large gap in the range maps for the Dion and the Broadwinged here in Tennessee, I believe they are probably present in most counties. If you have an old established Sedge swamp in your County, don't hesitate to go out and squish around a little bit and see what you can find. Even if you don't see one of these species, you will most likely find something else that is wonderful to observe. The very best time for Butterfly 'swampin' in Tennessee is during the next few weeks while the Sputnik (Buttonbush) is in high season. It's a Butterfly magnet. If you have a boat or an old canoe lying around, you can go look for these species along the shoreline, on nectar sources that hang out over the water.
The bugs probably aren't nearly as scarce as the people willing to go out and search for them.

Here's the Buttonbush I speak of.

[TN-Butterflies] Squishing around in the Swamp, Skippers

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