With warmer summer temperatures and wildflowers blooming, you may be noticing more colorful bugs while you are outside. Some of those are skippers, which are butterflies with a slightly different look. Skippers are of the Lepidoptera order, they are one of the six families of butterflies. Skippers go through metamorphosis like butterflies and moths. They have some similar characteristics of each as well, they fly by day and have antennae like other butterflies, while they have thicker bodies like a moth. Their colors are usually duller than traditional butterflies. Skippers are distinct because of their fast and flitting flight behavior. There are over 3500 species of skippers in the world.

Here are a few skippers in northern Arizona. The Pahaska skipper’s range goes from eastern Arizona, through New Mexico into western Texas. The Northern Cloudywing is always found in mountains, throughout the southwestern United States. The Silver-spotted skipper can be found in canyon and mountain slope areas where water is present.

Read more about SKIPPERS here: THE DIVERSE LEPIDOPTERA INSECT