Fiery Skipper

Open sunny areas including lawns, gardens, fields, pastures, roadsides, and parks.

Adults feed on flower nectar from various plants such as clover, marigolds, and lantana. Caterpillars feed on grasses, particularly Bermuda grass, crabgrass, and St. Augustine grass.

Known for a fast, erratic darting flight pattern. Males perch low to the ground on vegetation or bare soil to guard territory and wait for females. They rest with forewings raised and hindwings spread flat.

Harmless to humans. Beneficial as a pollinator for flowering plants, though larvae can occasionally cause small brown patches in cultivated turf grass when present in large numbers.