chalcedona14's Identifications

Grass Skipper butterfly nectaring on Narrowleaf Milkweed Flower. Link to Milkweed observation: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/180578718

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) is a small, native butterfly in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family and Grass Skippers (Hesperiinae) subfamily. It has a wing span of 1-1.25 inches and 3+ flights per year, April-November. Larval foodplant is lawn grasses. Adult nectar plants are many types of garden flowers. Best place to see them is urban and residential gardens and lawns. Fiery Skippers are most often seen in late summer.

My favorite Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) observations:
Male Wings Closed: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/245317636
Wings Open: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/95411791

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, Chris Tenney and Jan Austin, August 2023, pp. 180-181.

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hylephila-phyleus and https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search
"It has a stout body, short wings, and fast flight. Adults rest with wings closed or bask with hindwings opened farther than forewings (the "jet-plane" position), a posture unique to Grass Skippers."

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 262-263.

Bug photographs from the U.S/Canada for I.D: https://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Hylephila+phyleus

Grass Skippers are in the Skippers (Hesperiidae) family https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass_skippers:
"Most grass skippers have a rapid, darting flight. When landed, their wings are often kept completely closed, or with the hind wings more or less completely open but with the fore wings only partially opened, forming a V or U."

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, pp. 250-275.

Irene's Skippers Hesperiidae) family observations on INaturalist, worldwide: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=47653&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any

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BUTTERFLY and CATERPILLAR (Annotated References):

In California, there are about 240 species of butterflies. There are more than 3,000 species of MOTHS, which represent 4 suborders in about 50 families. Butterflies have clubbed antennae, moths do not. Many moths are nocturnal, but not all.

Field Guide to California Insects, by Kip Will, J. Gross, D. Rubinoff , J. Powell, 2nd ed., 2020 (Lepidoptera, pp. 347-426)

Butterflies of Monterey County: A comprehensive guide to finding and identifying 91 species of butterflies in Monterey County, by Chris Tenney and photograher Jan Austin, August 2023 and companion website: https://www.montereybutterflies.online/

Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions: A Field Guide, Arthur M. Shapiro and Timothy D. Manolis, 2007

Law's Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada, John Muir Laws, California Academy of Sciences, 2007

eButterfly: (2115+ species) https://www.e-butterfly.org/ebapp/en/observations/explore

BugGuide: Butterflies and Moths (U.S. and Canada) clickable categories or use search bar: https://bugguide.net/node/view/57

Butterfly Wing Areas and Body Parts (diagram)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001, p. 40.

Butterflies Through Binoculars: The West: a field guide to the butterflies of western North America, by Jeffrey Glassberg, 2001

Butterflies and Moths of North America https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species_search

Butterflies of Central and Northern California, a laminated pamphlet (guide to common and notable species) by Jim Brock, 2023

California Caterpillars: INaturalist Project https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/california-caterpillars

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Glossary of Butterfly (and Moth) Terminology by Art Shapiro: https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/resources/glossary

Caterpillar Anatomy (simple diagram) and Lepidoptera Basics: https://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/butterfly/activities/printouts/caterpillarprintout.shtml Life Cycle of a Butterfly: Egg --> Larva (the caterpillar) --> Pupa (the chrysalis or cocoon) --> Adult.

INaturalist Project: Lepidoptera (worldwide): https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/lepidoptera

INaturalist Project: Butterflies of the World: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/butterflies-of-the-world

Irene's Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) worldwide observations on INaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&taxon_id=47157&user_id=aparrot1&verifiable=any

Irene's (aparrot1) Profile Page on INaturalist listing Nature Resources (includes extensive list of online references with links) for Plants, Birds, Fungi, Lepidoptera, Arachnids, Reptiles, Amphibians, Marine Life, Plant Galls, and more: https://www.inaturalist.org/people/3188668