Mangrove Skipper

This weekend was quite busy with birding and day trips. On Sunday, Andy and I decided to take a quick look at Secret Woods Nature Center and Park in Broward County. There weren't many birds there though the habitat seems perfect for migrants. Maybe a little later in the season will be more productive. The action wasn't on the trails but it was at the butterfly garden.

I picked up a lifer Lepidoptera while we were there, the Mangrove Skipper (Phocides pigmalion). This tropical skipper is resident year around in central and southern Florida coastal regions. The hindwing is most distinctive with turquoise bands. Not only the shape and color of the wings but also the whitish head make this an easy Lepidoptera to identify. The larval foodplant is the Red Mangrove but it feeds on flowers like the Pentas seen in the photos.

There were three individuals in a small flower plot to study. The Mangrove Skipper in the last photo shows some body variation. Most of the skippers had a black fuzzy body but this one was almost brown in body color. I don't know if this is a sexual difference or not but if you know please clue me in. With the slow birding summer months starting to wane my new-found Lepidoptera interest may also fade but I'm willing to bet that it won't; especially since I live in Florida where the Leps fly year-around. Be ready for more to come!