Forages: European Skipper

Excerpt from 2002 edition of Agronomy Guide for Field Crops (Chapter 5)

Order 2009 edition of OMAFRA Publication 811: Agronomy Guide for Field Crops

Table of Contents

1. Description
2. Life History
3. Damage
4. Scouting Technique
5. Action Thresholds
6. Management Strategies
7. Updates on Forages: European Skipper
8. Related Links...

Description

The skipper is a sporadic pest of timothy, both in hay and seed production. The adult is a pumpkin-orange butterfly with a 2.5-cm wing spread that skips about hay fields in midsummer. Mature larvae are light green, approximately 2.5 cm in length and have brown heads with two light bands. Younger larvae have black heads that eventually turn brown. Larvae can usually be found within rolled leaves where they feed.

Life History

Eggs overwinter on the stems of crop debris and weeds and hatch in the spring. Young larvae roll themselves up in the leaves and seal the leaves closed with silk webbing. Larvae feed on timothy until late June. The larvae then attach themselves to grass stems or the underside of weed leaves and develop into chrysalids (the pupa stage of the butterfly). In approximately 2 weeks, the adult skipper emerges. There is one generation per year.

Damage

Larval feeding causes leaf margins to become irregularly notched and when abundant can cause defoliation. When the population is very high, the larvae will also feed on the heads of plants, leaving only the stems remaining in a field. Adult skippers feed on the nectar of flowers and weeds and do not cause any damage to plants.

Scouting Technique

Begin scouting for larvae by late April. Remove five random, 1-ft2 samples of forage down to ground level and place them along with the old crop residue into a bag. Tie the bag and leave overnight at room temperature. The caterpillars will crawl out of the residue and can be counted easily.

Action Thresholds

Six larvae in a 30 x 30-cm area found in the early, brown-headed stage.

Management Strategies

Refer to the OMAFRA Publication 812, Field Crop Protection Guide, for insecticide recommendations. (Order OMAFRA Publication 812, Field Crop Protection Guide)

Updates on Forages: European Skipper

• Field Crop Protection Guide - Publication 812
  • Forages: European Skipper

Related links...

• Insects
• Forages