Broad-winged Skipper and Phragmites

[Reuven Martin]

Hi all, I'm wondering if anybody has confirmed or suspected Broad-winged Skipper using Phragmites as a foodplant in Ontario? This morning I saw a Broad-winged Skipper in the middle of a large phrag patch at West Pond in Hamilton, with no flowers or other butterflies nearby.

Most references indicate that the use of phragmites is a purely Atlantic coastal thing, but I did come across this paper indicating use in Western New York: http://images.peabody.yale.edu/lepsoc/jls/2000s/2005/2005(2)110-Nakamura.pdf

Thanks!

Reuven Martin

[Bob Yukich]

Hi Reuven,

I've seen Broad-winged Skipper on several occasions in and around dense stands of phragmites at Springarden ANSI in Windsor, Ont. Also, a Broad-winged Skipper was photographed once in High Park, Toronto along the south side of Grenadier Pond in a dense stand of phragmites during a butterfly count in July. There are no suitable sedges in the park, and this species hadn't bred in the park in decades. So, I believe they are using that species as a host here in Ontario.

Cheers,

Bob

[rick cavasin]

I have also seen them around Phragmites stands down in Port Colborne, near the shore of Lake Erie.   I can't say whether or not there were sedges in the area however, there might have been.

Cheers, Rick

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ontario Butterflies" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to onbutterflies+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com.
To post to this group, send email to onbutt...@googlegroups.com.
Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/onbutterflies.
For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.

[james holdsworth]

Colonies of BWSK are frequent in phragmites in Oxford - with no sedges in sight. I have also found BWSK at various other southern Ontario sites that appeared to be using pure stands of phragmites. It would seem to be an Ontario foodplant, at least from what I have observed.

Cheers, James H.

On Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 2:00:53 PM UTC-4, Reuven Martin wrote:

[Reuven Martin]

Thanks all. There must be some other factor keeping their numbers from exploding (parasitoids?). There's certainly a lot of phragmites that doesn't seem to host Broad-winged Skipper.