Lon (Poanes) melane melane

Umber Skipper

In my garden in suburban Long Beach, this skipper is second only to the Fiery Skipper in numbers year after year. No doubt the use of Bermuda grass, among others, is what has made it a common suburban skipper. I've seen Umber Skippers as early as February and as late as October 31st, and I have photos from each month in between. There are apparently two broods, at least generally speaking, with flights peaking around May and early October, but that doesn't mean they won't be around in the summer as well. In the captions below, I show the sexual dimorphism in this species.