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This process is called ballistic defecation. To avoid bringing parasitic wasps to their nests, caterpillars expel their waste with power. Horse guard wasps may stock their nests with silver-spotted skipper caterpillars. Paper wasps hunt down larva and steal them. What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?Ĭaterpillars of this species are preyed on by paper wasps and horse guard wasps. Caterpillars eat crop plants like soybeans and members of the pea family, while adults drink the nectar. They may also feed from some introduced plants, including kudzus, black locusts, Chinese wisteria, and the genus dixie ticktrefoil. They may feed from false indigobush, hog-peanuts, butterfly peas, ground nuts, and American wisteria. Caterpillars eat the leafy greens of plants. Using their long tongues, adult spotted-silver skippers are able to drink nectar from a lot of different flowers. Silver-spotted skippers are able to sense sound, but unlike moths, they do not have a special organ for this sense. They can taste in their mouths and on the bottoms of their feet.

Their antennae can sense odors, touch, and possibly sound. Like other butterflies and skippers, they are able to see ultraviolet (UV) light. Silver-spotted skippers have compound eyes. Silver-spotted skippers build chrysalises inside of their leaf nest. The largest shelters are made up of several leaves together. Caterpillars only leave their shelters to feed or to build bigger shelters. As the caterpillars grow bigger, they use more and more pieces of leaves to build their nests. The first shelter is made by cutting a small part of a leaf and attaching it with silk. While they grow up, caterpillars make four different kinds of leaf nest shelters. Adults are active during the day, while caterpillars feed at night. Spotted-silver skippers fly in a jerky, acrobatic way.

( Bartlett, 2017 Hall, 2020) How do they behave? Spotted-silver skippers spend the winter in the pupal stage. In the most southern parts of their range, they can make three or more generations during the long warm season. In the most northern parts of their range, spotted-silver skippers create one generation of young per year. They build their chrysalises in their leaf nest. Throughout their development, caterpillars make different kinds of leaf nest shelters. The last group of caterpillars of the year spends the winter in their pupal stages. During this period of growth, the larvae molt and change shape. Larvae go through complete metamorphosis to become adults. Spotted-silver skippers grow from egg to larvae.

These animals are found in the following types of habitat.

The shelters of larger larvae can be built from a few leaves stitched together with silk. Larval silver-spotted skippers build and live in leaf shelters. This species can be found on flowers, mud, and sometimes animal feces. They can be found in forests, swamps, gardens, brushy areas, roadsides, and open areas. Silver-spotted skippers live in many mild, warm (temperate) habitats. In the western part of their range, they are found mostly in the mountains. Silver-spotted skippers ( Epargyreus clarus) are a species found across the United States and in southern Canada. Pupae are dark brown and have black and white markings. They look very similar to the caterpillars of Zestos skippers. Dark green stripes and spots cover their bodies. They look wrinkly and are green-yellow in color. ( Bartlett, 2017 Hall, 2020 Wagner, 2005)Ĭaterpillars are up to 2 inches long. They have brown bodies, six legs, and long tongues. The undersides of their wings are brown with large white spots. They have goldish-yellow spots on their front wings. The upper sides of their wings are brown. They are one of the largest species in their family, skippers. Adult silver-spotted skippers have a wingspan of 43-50 millimeters.