Silver-spotted Skipper

Epargyreus clarus is a large North American skipper. Its stout body, hooked antennal tips and short hindwing projection accompany a particularly conspicuous underside marking. [1]

A gold band crosses each brown forewing, while a large, uneven silver-white patch marks the hindwing underside. Larvae are yellowish with narrow dark crossbands and a dark reddish head bearing large yellow spots. [1]

The species occurs across much of the continental United States and southern Canada. Wood margins, shrubby openings and vegetation beside wetlands provide adult feeding sites and larval hosts. [1]

Growing larvae replace their shelters repeatedly. Small individuals fold a cut flap of leaf; later shelters involve larger folds or several joined leaves. Pupation occurs within a leaf shelter, and the pupa is the overwintering stage. [1][2]

Larvae feed on Fabaceae, including black locust, Robinia pseudoacacia, and false indigo, Amorpha fruticosa. Adults visit flowers and also take moisture from wet ground. [1]

Caterpillars spend much of their time against the inside roof of a shelter and leave for relatively brief feeding bouts. They actively remove foreign pellets placed inside, using the head or mandibles. [2]

Martha Weiss recorded a 4-cm larva propelling a faecal pellet 153 cm, approximately 38 body lengths. Ejection is driven by a pressure mechanism whose anal comb acts as a latch. [2]

Experiments found that frass near shelters increased the attention of predatory wasps. Removing these chemical clues provides a defensible explanation for ballistic ejection; the study gave less support to hygiene or lack of space as the principal benefits. [2]