All adult skippers have moth-like bodies that are thick and furry. Their wings are triangular and their antennae end in knobs with tiny hooks. Skippers get their name from their flight pattern of darting from one place to another.

The photograph above is of a female tropical checkered skipper resting on a leaf in one of the Lagoon Trail gardens. Females have darker hairs on the upper surface of their wings than do the males with their long, bluish-white hairs. Although no eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalises of tropical checkered skippers have been observed in the gardens, they may be present. Eggs are laid singly and are a a pale green color.

Tropical checkered caterpillars are light green with smooth skin and large black heads. Their bodies are covered with light-colored hairs. They feed on tender new leaves of members of the mallow or hibiscus family, and they construct shelters by folding two or more leaves together and tying them with silk. One of its larval host plants is arrowleaf sida (Sida rhombifolia), growing in Garden 9.

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Links:

Index to Butterfly and Moth Visitors to the Conservancy Ecotone Trail

Index To Photographs of Plants in the Gardens

Plant Lists by Garden

Conservancy of Southwest Florida Ecotone Home Page

Conservancy of Southwest Florida Home Page.

Please report errors to Susan Snyder at susanleachsnyder@gmail.com