Euphyes arpa, the palmetto skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae.
The wingspan is 41–49 mm. The head and front of thorax are bright orange.[4] The upperside of the forewings is reddish yellow with black borders in males and mostly black with a few reddish-yellow patches in females.[4] The underside of the hindwings is bright yellow orange without markings in both males and females.[4]
The larvae feed on the fronds of the palm species Serenoa repens, the saw palmetto, and live in silken tubes at the frond base.[4] The species overwinters in the larval stage.[4]
Adults feed on flower nectar from various plants, including the pickerelweeds (genus Pontederia).[4] Adult males perch in sedge marshes to await females.[4]
Habitat is generally moist with low palmetto scrub, including open pine flats, and forested scrub/shrub wetlands, with a necessary abundance of saw palmetto.[1][5]
E. arpa is found in most of Florida, and immediately adjacent Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, possibly established resident only in Florida and Mississippi.[1]
Adults occur in most of Florida from about March to November, apparently with several broods per year.[1]
The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List.[6] NatureServe ranks the species with a rounded global conservation status of G3: vulnerable.[1] The species may be extirpated in the Florida Keys.[1]
Euphyes arpa, the palmetto skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae.
