Butterflies of North Carolina

Common Name begins with:
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Scientific Name begins with:
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Once on a species account page, clicking on the "View PDF" link will show the flight data for that species, for each of the three regions of the state.
Other information, such as high counts and earliest/latest dates, can also been seen on the PDF page.

Related Species in HESPERIIDAE:
comName	Brazilian Skipper by Randy Newman => 2003-09-24, Ft. Macon State Park [View PDF] Click to enlarge [Google Images] BoA [Images ]
sciName	Calpodes ethlius
	Link to BAMONA species account.
map	Click on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.
distribution	DISTRIBUTION: Primarily a migrant from farther south, but which oviposits in the state and produces one or two additional broods in late summer and fall. Widely scattered records throughout the Coastal Plain and the southeastern half of the Piedmont, with a first record for the foothills (McDowell County) in 2012. A belated record from the mountains, in Ashe County, was made in 2014 (but not reported until two years later). It has been found on the Outer Banks. It was recorded in three new counties (Alamance, Cleveland, and Richmond), all well inland, in 2018.
abundance	ABUNDANCE: Rare, but somewhat erratic in numbers from year to year. In most years, a few are reported, but a population boom in the Eastern US was noted in 2018 and a remarkable 40 records were made in NC in that year. As might be expected, it is more frequently reported from the extreme southern coast (Brunswick and New Hanover counties) than elsewhere.
flight	FLIGHT PERIOD: This migrant occurs mostly in late summer and fall, from mid-July to early December. Quite amazing was an individual photographed on April 28, 2006, by Randy Newman; this is our first spring record. The Ashe County sighting was on July 10, one of the earliest records in the state. In 2018, enough adults had emerged in some areas by July that one or two additional broods were noted; for example, at the Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, there was a strong brood of adults in August, and another brood of fresh adults was seen in October.
habitat	HABITAT: This species is found in the usual places for southern migrants -- weedy fields, roadsides, gardens, and other sunny and disturbed places. Stands of canna are the best places to look for the species; as this plant isn't native to NC, residential areas, golf courses, nurseries, arboretums, etc., that have canna patches are additional places to search.
plants	FOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: The foodplants are well known to be robust herbs in the canna family (Marantaceae), especially Canna flaccida. The adults nectar on many flowers; males often patrol stands of canna when in bloom.
comments	COMMENTS: This is a large, robust species that can scarcely be confused. Some, or perhaps most, of the individuals seen in NC have been fresh. They might have come from eggs laid in the state. Obviously, complete details of the flight period and life history of the species are not well known in NC. Some of the records are based on caterpillars found on cannas. In fact, searching for caterpillars is the easiest way to document the presence of the species, and the 2003 records for Durham, Orange and Scotland counties are based on such larval records. John Dole's report of five adults flying around canna stands at a nursery in Wake County in August 2002 was the precursor of a good fall season. Jeff Pippen and I, while scanning mostly lantanas at a golf course near Sunset Beach for southern strays, stumbled onto adult Brazilian Skippers "guarding" most sizable stands of canna along the roadsides, in September 2002. Our count of 13 adults has been the highest count reported in NC. Jamie Cameron made a remarkable discovery of an adult seen at a garden at Lake James State Park in McDowell County on August 24, 2012. Unfortunately, no adult Brazilian Skippers were reported in the state in 2013. Thankfully, despite a very poor year for migrant species (in general), there were 11 reports of adults in 2014, including three reports from the Piedmont. Also, 2016 was a rather good year for them, with nine reports, from both the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. As mentioned above, there were an amazing 40 reports in the state in NC in 2018, which amounted to nearly half of all previous state reports (93) through 2017!
state_status	SZB
fed_status	G5
synonym
other_name
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page_num	174
sort_order	174.0

Links to other butterfly galleries: [Cook] [Lynch] [Pippen] [Pugh]
Photo Gallery for Brazilian Skipper
	Photo by: Tom Stock Comment: Duck, Dare County, on August 15, 2006 Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Tom Stock Comment: Duck, Dare County, on August 15, 2006 Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Salman Abdulali Comment: Chrysalis - 2018-06-17 at the Pitt County Arboretum. Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Comment: Sep 12, 2003. Mecklenburg Co. Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Comment: Sep 12, 2003. Mecklenburg Co. Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge	Photo by: John Ennis Comment: 8/18/12 Tinga Nursery, Castle Hayne, New Hanover County, NC Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Salman Abdulali Comment: Pitt County Arboretum, first county record - 2012-06-28 Brazilian Skipper - Click to enlarge