''Oarisma garita'', the Garita skipperling, western skipperling or Garita skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

(skippers), subfamily Hesperiinae (grass skippers). This skipper ranges southeastern Manitoba to British Columbia and south through the American

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

as far south as Mexico. Its habitats include dry or moist prairies, open woodlands, and limestone outcrops.

Description

Colored orange brown on the upperside. The underside of the forewings are also orange but hindwings are dark gray with orange inner margins and gray-white veins. Wingspan is from 20 to 25 mm.Garita Skipperling
Butterflies of Canada

Behavior

Flies from mid-June through mid-July. Larvae feed on ''

Sitanion ''Elymus'' is a genus of perennial plants with approximately 150 species in the grass family, related to rye, wheat, and other widely grown cereal grains. ''Elymus'' is a cosmopolitan genus, represented by species across all continents of the ...

'', '' Blephanoneuron'', '' Stipa'', ''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...

'' and '' Bouteloua''. Adults feed on flower nectar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oarisma garita Butterflies of North America