Ottoe Skipper
Hesperia ottoe W.H. Edwards, 1866
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Upperside is bright brownish orange; male has narrow black edging on the outer margins of both wings, female is brighter with diffuse borders. Stigma on male forewing has black or gray felt. Underside of hindwing is yellow-orange; no markings in the male, sometimes with faint markings in the female.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 11/16 inches (3.2 - 4.3 cm).
Life History: Adults are strong fliers. Males perch near the host plants all day to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly at the base of a grass stem. In Minnesota eggs may be laid on the flowers of Echinacea angustifolia; the young caterpillars must drop off the flower and find a host plant to eat. Caterpillars live in a nest of leaves tied with silk, and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from June-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Fall witchgrass (Leptoloma cognatum), little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), and other grasses.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of green and common milkweeds, yellow prickly pear, vetch, alfalfa, bush houstonia, purple coneflower, leadplant, compassplant, sunflower, and blazing star.
Habitat: Native tall-grass prairie.
Range: Southern Manitoba and eastern Montana south along the high plains to north Texas; east through Nebraska and Kansas to central Illinois and southwest Michigan.
Conservation: Conversion of tall-grass prairie to agricultural use has greatly reduced the habitat and numbers of the Ottoe Skipper.
NCGR: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management Needs: Populations of this skipper should be conserved wherever found. Care should be taken in habitat management. Use of fire as a tool should be discouraged.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 97 - 120 of 181 verified sightings
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Region: Comanche County, Kansas, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Wheeler County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Lawrence County, South Dakota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Charles Mix County, South Dakota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Hitchcock County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Cuming County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Crook County, Wyoming, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Dawson County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Pratt County, Kansas, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Yuma County, Colorado, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Riley County, Kansas, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Mills County, Iowa, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Houston County, Minnesota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Norton County, Kansas, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Region: Rooks County, Kansas, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Dawes County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Fall River County, South Dakota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Grant County, Nebraska, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
Observation date: unknown
Submitted by: legacy.reporter
Region: Edmunds County, South Dakota, United States
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Verified date: Dec 31, 2004
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