• Butterflies
• Dragonflies
• Damselflies
• Tiger beetles
• Hike with Mike

• The butterflies:
• Skippers
  • Spread-wing Skippers
  • Skipperlings
  • Grass-Skippers
• Grass-Skippers
  • Swarthy Skipper
  • Least Skipper
  • Poweshiek Skipperling
  • European Skipper
  • Fiery Skipper
  • Common Branded Skipper
  • Ottoe Skipper
  • Leonard’s Skipper
  • Cobweb Skipper
  • Indian Skipper
  • Peck’s Skipper
  • Tawny-edged Skipper
  • Crossline Skipper
  • Long Dash
  • Northern Broken-Dash
  • Little Glassywing
  • Sachem
  • Delaware Skipper
  • Byssus Skipper
  • Mulberry Wing
  • Hobomok Skipper
  • Broad-winged Skipper
  • Dion Skipper
  • Black Dash
  • Two-spotted Skipper
  • Dun Skipper
  • Dusted Skipper
  • Pepper and Salt Skipper
  • Common Roadside-Skipper
  • Eufala Skipper
  • Arogos Skipper

Ottoe Skipper

(Hesperia ottoe)

The Ottoe Skipper is listed as a species of special concern by the Wisconsin DNR. I have looked for this species on many occasions, in places that they were said to occur, but I had not seen one until 2005 when I saw this worn individual at Hardscrabble SNA. Glassberg calls this species the “super-king of the tall grass prairies” in his “Butterflies throught Binoculars: The East”. It has been found mainly in tall grass pririe habitat near hill tops in Wisconsin. Check out this Xerces Society page for additional information on this skipper.

Identifying characteristics: Above, the male of this species is an orange butterfly with black margins and a dark stigma in the center of the wing. The female is darker and has variable light spots. Below, this species is mainly a light yellow usually with no spots in the male, and sometimes with light spots on the female.

Similar species: The male “Pawnee” form of the Leonard’s Skipper is very similar but this form is found farther west and flies later in the year than the Ottoe Skipper. The Byssus Skipper may fly with this species in the southwestern part of the state, and being nearly the same size it may be confused with this species in flight. Worn individuals may indeed be confused with this species if only seen from below.

Habitat: Tall grass prairies and adjacent areas.

Flight: This species is single brooded and may be found from late June to late July.

Abundance: An uncommon species in Wisconsin, this species is rarely abundant anywhere in its range. The highest single day total on an NABA count is 30 individuals. In the 2005 NABA counts, it was found on only two counts with a high count of three and in 2004 it wasn’t seen on any NABA count.

Early Ottoe Skipper sightings, all years

Date seen	County	Reported by
07–01–2007	Crawford	Ann & Scott Swengel
07–01–2007	Vernon	Ann & Scott Swengel
07–06–2007	Grant	Ann & Scott Swengel
07–28–2005	Lafayette	Mike Reese

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