''Poanes aaroni'', the saffron skipper, is a North American

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

from the

skipper Skipper or skippers may refer to: Rank * Skipper (boating), a person who has command of a vessel * Skipper (rank), a former warrant rank in the British Royal Naval Reserve. Also informal for an officer of sergeant rank in British policing * T ...

family (

Hesperiidae Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...

) which occurs in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast. The upperside of the wings are vivid orange, with broad black borders. The underside of the hindwing is a paler orange with a pallid stripe in the center. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

feeds exclusively on

smooth cordgrass ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

(''Spartina alterniflora''). Four subspecies are recognized: * ''P. a. aaroni'' Skinner, 1890 – Aaron's skipper * ''P. a. bordeloni'' – Bordelon's skipper * ''P. a. howardi'' – Howard's skipper * ''P. a. minimus'' – swamp skipper

References

External links

Pictures
Dave Powell's Butterfly Site Poanes Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1890 {{hesperiinae-stub