Dun Skipper, July 9, 2019
On July 9, I found a third red-listed butterfly species for Quadra. This is the Dun Skipper ( Euphyes vestris) nectaring on Corn Mint in the first marsh on Walcan Road, about 30ft from where I found the red-listed Oregon Branded Skippers (Hesperia colorado ssp. oregonia) last August. There were two of them. I am not sure what to make of the fact that the corn mint seems to be flowering a month earlier than last year...I sure hope the Oregon Branded Skippers show up in August and the corn mint is still flowering. This is my first time actually seeing them and I’ve never seen them anywhere else on Quadra. Oh also, I haven’t seen record of them this far north, usually around Nanaimo to Victoria and south.