Elusive and Effusive Skippers: Up Close and Personal

Hmmm, is that a glimmer
of hope on the horizon?

The weeks of COVID-19
lockdown are getting to us all. As the days grow warmer and the sun beckons us
to step out and enjoy its warmth, our impatience grows. There is a glimmer of
light, of hope, on the horizon that both tempts us and taunts us.

Once more I turn to my beloved
winged wonders for a virtual release. Today I focus on the elusive and effusive
Skippers – the tiny but energetic members of the butterfly family for which I
have come to have a particular affection.

European
Skipper

An accidental species.
Introduced here a full century ago. As common as weeds in early July. But such
an exquisite sense of where to perch to best effect.

Crossline
Skipper

The name makes no sense.
Unless it spreads its wings. Not often inclined to yield such a view. We take
our pleasure where we can. The pale spotband and big brown eye are enough.

Delaware
Skipper

At home in wet grassy
habitats. Elegant in unmarked golden yellow on the outer wings. Just the hint
of a fringed edge. Simple and common. But elegant in its own right.

Northern
Cloudywing

Found of flowers and
mud. Often found on the ground. Not a beauty in traditional terms. Clouded
shades of brown. Triangular wing spots. Easy to miss. A delight to observe.

Common
Roadside Skipper

Strangely misnamed.
Found sparingly in woodland edges, openings and streamsides. Framed here by an
arching grass stems that seem to bend in worship.

Wild
Indigo Duskywing

Maddeningly difficult to
distinguish from its duskywing cousins. Will not win any beauty contests. But
here, against a blurry backdrop, display itself to full effect.

Beauty can be a
contagion too. No social distancing here. Get up close and personal. It is
allowed.

~  Now Available Online
from Amazon, Chapters Indigo or Barnes & Noble: Hunting Muskie, Rites of
Passage – Stories by Michael Robert Dyet

~ Michael Robert Dyet is also
the author of Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel which
was a double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s
website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com .

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