Copaeodes aurantiacus

Photo Life History: Copaeodes aurantiacus

Habitat:  Desert Hills & Mountains; Desert Washes; (Also flies in urban-suburban habitat in desert areas.)

Host Plants:  Cynodon dactylon

Suitable Lab Host Plants: Phalaris arundinacea; Sorghum halepense (Most wide-bladed weedy grasses work fine to feed this larva in the lab.)  

Caring for Live Female Butterflies:  Nectaring techniques

Methods of Female Oviposition:  Portable Cages; Getting eggs out of females has proven to be the most effective way of rearing this skipper.)

How to Find Eggs:  Look on grass blades.  Finding eggs can be difficult if host grasses are too common.

How to Hatch Eggs:  Consolidate eggs into one container

How to Find Caterpillars in the Field: Look for Caterpillar Strip Patterns  (Click on link and scroll to the bottom of the page to see examples of skipperling caterpillars making zig-zag chew marks.  This feeding pattern is diagonostic for skippers such as Lerodea eufala, Thymelicus linneola, Oarisima garita, Copaeodes aurantiacus, and likely many others.

Caterpillar setups:  Open terrariums; Open Bucket.  Click here to watch a video demonstrating how to place a hatchling first instar Poanes caterpillar on wide bladed grasses.

Larva to Pupa:  

How to Find Pupae in the Field: 

Number of Broods per Year:  2 to 4; depending upon location.

Overwintering Stage:

Overwintering Strategies: 

Post-Hibernation Strategies:

Avoiding Diapause Techniques:  Provide larvae healthy host plant.  They should go through in the lab.

Disease Prevention: 

Emergence:  Emergence Container

Field Notes:  Jim Brock has noted that C. aurantiacus fifth instar larvae will make a conspicuous zig zag chew mark on host grasses.