Page 105 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Hesperiidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern Rocky Mountains, south to western Mexico
HABITAT Mountain valley bottoms
HOST PLANTS Hay grasses (tall, wide-leafed grasses, such as Dactylis spp.
and Poa spp.)
NOTE Caterpillars that build silked tube nests in grasses
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common in most of its range

ADULT WINGSPAN
1¼–1¹¹∕₁₆ in (32–43 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1³∕₁₆ in (30 mm)
POANES TAXILES
TAXILES SKIPPER 103

(W. H. EDWARDS, 1881)

The Taxiles Skipper caterpillar eats any of several dozen species
of tall, skinny, wide-leaf grasses mostly growing at the bottom of
valleys—the kinds of grasses farmers grow for hay. The larva
attaches silk threads on each side of the top of a wide leaf, and
each thread shrinks and makes the leaf curl. When the leaf is
curled into a tube, the edges are silked shut to create a leaf-tube
nest where the caterpillar rests when not feeding. Half-grown
caterpillars hibernate in a silk nest, develop further in the spring,
and then pupate in another silked-leaf nest.

Like other grass-feeding skippers, and also satyrids (Satyrinae),
the caterpillar has mandibles without teeth (like scissor blades)
to cut through tough grass leaves; other species have toothed
mandibles to saw through leaves. A single generation of adults
emerges in early summer. The adults, named for their darting
flight, are avid flower visitors commonly found near moist oases

at the bottom of desert canyons. There are more than 3,500
skipper species worldwide.

The Taxiles Skipper caterpillar is brownish
green to reddish tan with hundreds of tiny,
reddish dots, some weak longitudinal stripes,
a narrow, black collar, and orange-brown
head. The dorsal stripe is usually the most
prominent, and the head is distinctly pubescent.
The terminal segment is usually browner
than the rest.
Actual size