''Polites sabuleti'', the sandhill skipper or saltgrass skipper, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

. It is found from southern

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and eastern

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, south through

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and northern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

and east to south-eastern

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, central

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, and north-eastern

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. It is an introduced species in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 22–32 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from June to August at high elevations. There are several generations from March to October in the southern part of its range and at low elevations. The larvae feed on various grasses, including ''

Cynodon dactylon ''Cynodon dactylon'', commonly known as Bermuda grass, also known as couch grass in Australia and New Zealand, is a grass found worldwide. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia and much of Asia. It has been introduced to the Americas. Contra ...

'', ''

Poa pratensis ''Poa pratensis'', commonly known as Kentucky bluegrass (or blue grass), smooth meadow-grass, or common meadow-grass, is a perennial species of grass native to practically all of Europe, North Asia and the mountains of Algeria, Morocco, and Tuni ...

'', ''

Distichlis spicata ''Distichlis spicata'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents a ...

'' var. ''stricta'', '' Eragrostis trichodes'', ''

Agrostis scabra ''Agrostis scabra'' is a common species of Poaceae, grass known by the common names hair grass, rough bent, rough bent grass, winter bent grass, and ticklegrass. page 210 A tumbleweed, it is a bunchgrass native to Asia and much of North America, ...

'', '' Festuca idahoensis'', and '' Festuca brachyphylla''. Adults feed on flower nectar.

Subspecies

*''Polites sabuleti sabuleti'' (California) *''Polites sabuleti tecumseh'' (Grinnel, 1903) (California) *''Polites sabuleti chusca'' (Edwards, 1873) (Arizona, California) *''Polites sabuleti margaretae'' Miller & MacNeill, 1969 (Baja California) *''Polites sabuleti ministigma'' Scott, 1981 (Colorado) *''Polites sabuleti alkaliensis'' Austin, 1987 (Nevada, eastern Washington) *''Polites sabuleti albamontana'' Austin, 1987 (Nevada) *''Polites sabuleti sinemaculata'' Austin, 1987 (Nevada) *''Polites sabuleti nigrescens'' Austin, 1987 (Nevada) *''Polites sabuleti basinensis'' Austin, 1987 (replacement name of ''Polites sabuleti pallida'') (Nevada) *''Polites sabuleti aestivalis'' Emmel, Emmel & Mattoon, 1998 (California, southern Oregon) *''Polites sabuleti channelensis'' Emmel & Emmel, 1998 (California)

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America Polites (butterfly), sabuleti Butterflies of North America Fauna of the California chaparral and woodlands Fauna of the Rocky Mountains Fauna of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Butterflies described in 1852 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Canada {{Hesperiinae-stub