Applegater Fall 2016
Silver-spotted Skippers
13
Silver-spotted Skipper
BY LINDA KAPPEN
T h e Si l ve r - s p o t t e d Sk i p p e r
(Epargyreus clarus) is North America’s
largest skipper. It belongs to the butterfly
family Hesperiidae and a group of
skippers called spread-winged skippers.
Skippers differ from other
butterflies by having (1) a plump-
looking thorax, (2) triangular-shaped
wings, and (3) shorter, curved club-
hooked antennae, while butterflies
have straight, clubbed antennae. Most
skippers are small and speed along,
stopping and moving again quickly.
The Silver-spotted Skipper can be
seen in flight from early April to late
August with one brood in the Pacific
Northwest and two broods in warmer
parts of North America. It can have a
wingspread of two inches or more. When
its wings are open, golden-orange patches
stand out against a soft darker-brown
background. When it’s in flight, a silver,
irregular-shaped spot flashes by quickly,
making it unmistakable from any other
species. While perched on flowers or
the ground in its usual pose with wings
folded (see photo), it allows the viewer a
close-up look.
The male will perch on taller
plants or trees to watch other insects near
the host plants and to keep an eye out
for females. The female will lay a ribbed
green egg capped in red on the host plant.
The larvae will grow and live in a leaf nest
while feeding, then pupate or overwinter
near the host plant. Host plants are
wisteria, legumes, and particularly lotus.
As adults, they nectar on lotus, dogbane,
and other legumes.
The range of the Silver-spotted
Skipper is throughout North America
and southern portions of Canada.
Locally, it can be common at times and is
found in lower- to mid-range elevations
in open clearings, riparian habitats, and
roadside ditches where stands of lotus
and dogbane grow.
This past winter brought much
needed moisture. As a result, healthy
patches of lotus are thriving as well as
dogbane, which is an important nectar
plant to many butterflies. Often these
are seen growing near the ditches on our
county and mountain roads.
We have seen many Silver-
spotted Skippers this past
spring and summer. I haven’t seen a
population this large locally since 2012.
I would like to encourage people to
research the lotus species and spreading
dogbane to recognize them and keep
them safe from spraying or removal.
Hopefully, we will have an even better
winter and see more Silver-spotted
Skippers next spring.
Linda Kappen
humbugkapps@hotmail.com
Linda earned a naturalist certification from
Siskiyou Field Institute and hosts butterfly
courses there. Photo by Linda Kappen.
introduced a virulent European disease
that wiped out the species. Franklin’s
bumblebee would also have been sensitive
to habitat
alteration,
pesticides, and
competition
from European
honeybees for
limited floral
resources.
Although
there are many
historical records
for this species
from around the
region—both
published and in
museums—two
sightings in the
Franklin’s bumblebee photo by James P. Strange, PhD,
research entomologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Applegate stand
out: Franklin’s
bumblebee was
on lupines and California poppies and documented in the town of Copper (now
nectaring on horsemint (Agastache covered by Applegate Lake) in 1968
urticifolia) and coyote mint (Monardella and in Ruch in 1990. Those who have
odoratissima). As a social, ground-nesting lived in the Applegate Valley for more
species, Franklin’s bumblebee would than 20 years may have seen Franklin’s
have used abandoned rodent burrows bumblebee buzzing around without
or clumps of bunchgrasses for nesting, realizing it.
Many other native pollinators are
making undisturbed grassland habitat
also in decline, including the western
important to its survival.
The “buzz pollination”—a bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis), which
technique used by some bees to release has seen similar declines as Franklin’s in
pollen—that bumblebees provide makes our area, but thankfully can still be found
them excellent pollinators for crops at very low numbers. There’s still time
such as tomatoes and peppers, which to save the western bumblebee from the
may have led to the extinction of same fate as Franklin’s bumblebee.
Franklin’s bumblebee. Dr. Thorp believes
that commercially reared Franklin’s
bumblebees that were brought to the
United States from Europe may have
The
decline
and
d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f Fr a n k l i n’s
bumblebee is part of the drastic and
widespread decline of native pollinators
in North America. It is estimated that 15
percent of our annual food crops, valued
at $3 billion, rely on the pollination
services of our native pollinators. Natural
and intact ecosystems also rely on
pollinators for the production of fruits,
nuts, and berries that wildlife depend on
for their survival. Continued pollinator
declines are expected to contribute
to a decrease in crop pollination and
food production, as well as native plant
reproduction.
“Bee” on the lookout for
Franklin’s bumblebee! If you see
one, carefully net it and collect it into
a viewing jar for positive identification.
Take a photo, release it back to the spot
you found it, and contact the Xerces
Society for Invertebrate Conservation,
the US Forest Service, or US Fish and
Wildlife Service.
A lot of people in the Klamath-
Siskiyou ecoregion are rooting for
Franklin’s bumblebee and hoping it
will once again be found and put in its
rightful place alongside the iconic and
endemic species that make our region
special and unique.
For more information about
Franklin’s bumblebee, visit the Xerces
Society website at xerces.org/franklins-
bumble-bee.
Suzie Savoie
klamathsiskiyou@gmail.com
Bee on the lookout
BY SUZIE SAVOIE
The Klamath-Siskiyou ecoregion
is home to many iconic species that
grow or live nowhere else on earth:
Siskiyou salamander, Port Orford cedar,
Brewer’s spruce, Gentner’s fritillary, and
the Kalmiopsis plant, to name a few.
One species that should be included on
this iconic list is Franklin’s bumblebee
(Bombus franklinii). Known only in a
historic range from southern Oregon and
northern California between the Coast
and Sierra-Cascade ranges, Franklin’s
bumblebee had the most restricted range
of any bumblebee in the world.
Once readily found throughout
its range, the population of Franklin’s
bumblebee has dropped steadily since
1998 according to surveys conducted in
the 1990s by preeminent bee researcher
Dr. Robbin Thorp. It is now feared that
this unique species has gone extinct! In
the last sighting of Franklin’s bumblebee,
in August 2006 on Mount Ashland,
only a single worker bee was found.
Subsequent annual surveys have failed to
locate the species, including large surveys
conducted by Dr. Thorp on Mount
Ashland this past July, where 30 people
combed meadows looking for the bee.
Franklin’s bumblebee used to be
found at various elevations in moist
meadow habitat containing an abundance
of flowering plant species. The flight
season of Franklin’s bumblebee was
from mid-May to the end of September.
According to Dr. Thorp, Franklin’s
bumblebee was a generalist forager and
had been observed collecting pollen
Handcrafted ‘Applecrates’ for sale
Beautiful planters called “Applecrates,” built with
donated local wood and volunteer labor, are for sale.
All proceeds help sustain the Applegater. See these useful
and long-lasting Applecrates at Applegate Valley Realty,
935 N. Fifth Street, Jacksonville. The price of a stock
planter box (see photo), 12” wide x 22” long x 14” deep,
starts at $40. For more information, call Chris Bratt at
541-846-6988.
From the Heart
of the Applegate
Anthology of original essays, poems, and short
stories contributed by Applegate Valley writers
in support of the Applegater.
Available now for $16 at:
Amazon.com and applegater.org
Applegate Valley Realty, Jacksonville
Bloomsbury Books, Ashland
Oregon Books, Grants Pass
Terra Firma, Jacksonville