Monk Skipper Butterfly Nectaring on Wildflower

ENCHANTED FOREST PARK – NORTH MIAMI, FL

This photograph of a Monk Skipper Butterfly was taken at Enchanted Forest Park, which is located on NE 135th Street in North Miami, Florida. The gear used in this Monk Skipper Butterfly was a Nikon D90 body, attached to a Nikkor 60mm 2.8 lens.

In the US, this species, the Monk Skipper Butterfly, is found only in south Florida where it is a common butterfly. Caterpillar food plants are reported to be palms.

The Monk Skipper Butterfly (Asbolis capucinus) was first noted as an established population in Florida in 1947, formed from strays from Cuba. Habitats are subtropical areas under palms. Host plants are shrubs and tree palms including Sabal palmetto, Cocos nucifera, Phoenis, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii. There are many migrational flights all year in southern Florida, and from March 1-Dec. 31 in central Florida.

A skipper or skipper butterfly is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. They are named after their quick, darting flight habits. More than 3500 species of skippers are recognized, and they occur worldwide, but with the greatest diversity in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America.

Skippers have generally stocky bodies and large compound eyes, with strong wing muscles in the plump thorax, in this resembling many “moths” more than other butterfly lineages do. Some have large wings, but only rarely as large in proportion to the body as in other butterflies. When at rest, skippers keep their wings usually angled upwards or spread out, and only rarely fold them up completely.

Monk Skipper  (Asbolis capucinus)

Dimensions      1 5/8-2″ (42-51 mm).

Habitat              Cities, suburbs & towns, Forests & woodlands, Shorelines & salt marshes.

Range                 Florida

Subject Photo exif Data

Camera Make and Model NIKON D90

Photo taken on August 24, 2014, 8:09 am

Focal Length 60mm

Shutter Speed 1/125

Aperture @ƒ/6.3