Rare Skipper
Female - July 2022
The Rare Skipper (Problema bulenta) is an uncommon yellow-orange grass skipper which is very plain/solid looking from the ventral side. This butterfly has broad wings similar to the Broad-Winged Skipper but not as big (see below for comparison). The wings have a powdery appearance and a softer pastel tone as compared with the similar but smaller Delaware Skipper, which is a bit shinier and also more on the vibrant yellow-orange side.
Female - July 2022
The species also has subtle wing vein details on both males and females when viewing from above. This helps differentiate from the Delaware Skipper on which they are more prominent in general. The wing shape is also different on the species with the Rare Skipper having pointier forewings as compared with Delaware’s smaller, more rounded forewings. Both can occur in similar environments, but Rare Skippers only occur the south of the state, while Delaware Skippers appear in northern New Jersey as well.
Female - July 2022
The flower beds at this nature reserve in Cape May were stunning and full of pollinators. There were huge patches of these white cone flowers all around and this particular Rare Skipper gave me some striking looks in the golden light of the setting sun.
Female - July 2022
I really like this photo as the sun lights up the top of the coneflower while the Rare Skipper is feeding. This was the second female I found on the day and I’ve yet to come across a male so that’s something I’d like to document in the future.
Broad-Winged and Rare Skipper - July 2022
Here’s a Rare Skipper and a Broad-Winged Skipper staring each other down!! The female Rare Skipper was VERY protective of this particular flower and even buzzed my phone as I came in close to take a video!! However, the larger Broad-Winged Skipper decided to fly in and land right next to her making for a really cool shot.
