New Jersey Butterflies
Least Skipper
Ancycloxypha numitor
Identification: Tiny—FW <0.5" (NJ's smallest grass-skipper). Sexes similar. Rounded wings are distinctive, as is busy but weak flight within vegetation near the ground. Above: FW dark, either completely or with an orange patch along the leading margin. HW orange with a medium-wide, even-edged dark border along leading and outer margins. Abdomen orange with a dark stripe along the top. Below: FW dark, with a broad orange band along leading and trailing margins (when wings are closed, only the orange is visible). HW plain orange, paler in the center. Similar skippers: European is larger, with triangular wings.
NJ Status and Distribution: Resident. Common to abundant throughout.
Habitat: Grassy wetlands of all kinds.
Flight Period: Three broods resulting in an extended flight from late May—October. Extreme dates: North Jersey 5/21—10/20; South Jersey 4/20—10/31.
Larval Food Plants: Various grasses, including Reed Canary Grass (Phalaris arundinacea), Rice Cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides), bluegrasses (Poa)
Overwintering Stage: 3rd or 4th instar caterpillar.
Best Locations: Appalachian Trail Lands, Wallkill River NWR, Muckshaw Ponds Preserve, Troy Meadows, Higbee Beach WMA, Hidden Valley WMA, Riverwinds Scenic Trail.
Comments: Several hundred can sometimes be seen in the Appalachian Trail Lands marshes where they like to nectar on vetches, Purple Loosestrife, and other wetland flowers.
Fredon Twp., Sussex Co., NJ, 9/12/10.
Whittingham WMA, Sussex Co., NJ, 6/6/12.