Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

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Santa Barbara Field Guides - Butterflies
Lepidoptera
   Hesperiidae

     Polites sabuleti
     Sandhill Skipper


male upperside
male underside
female upperside
female underside

Size: Wingspread 0.75-1.25 in.
Recognition: A variable species, brown to orange to yellow above, male with FW slash (stigma); underside of HW with characteristic 'rays' extending from lighter patches along veins.
Flight period: Adults active from late spring to early fall.
Hostplants: Larvae eat a variety of grasses, including salt grass and Bermuda grass.
Habitat: Found in many habitats, particularly sandy dunes and saltmarshes along the coast, as well as open areas in urban and montane locales.
Distribution: The Sandhill Skipper extends throughout much of the western U.S.

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