The Woodland Skipper is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Hesperiidae family. It is found from British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 south to southern California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, east to Montana

Montana

Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

 and Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 25-32 mm. The upperside is orange with toothed brown borders. The forewing of the males has a black stigma, while females have or a black diagonal band. There is a large reddish patch on the hindwings. The underside is variable in colour, ranging from yellow to reddish to brown. The hindwing varies from unmarked to having a distinct band of cream to yellow spots. Adults feed on flower nectar.

The larvae feed on various Poaceae

Poaceae

The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...

 species, including Cynodon dactylon

Cynodon dactylon

Cynodon dactylon , also known as Dūrvā Grass, Bermuda Grass, Dubo, Dog's Tooth Grass, Bahama Grass, Devil's Grass, Couch Grass, Indian Doab, Arugampul, Grama, and Scutch Grass, is a grass native to north and east Africa, Asia and Australia and southern Europe...

, Phalaris

Phalaris

Phalaris was the tyrant of Acragas in Sicily, from approximately 570 to 554 BC.-History:He was entrusted with the building of the temple of Zeus Atabyrius in the citadel, and took advantage of his position to make himself despot. Under his rule Agrigentum seems to have attained considerable...

, Elymus

Elymus

In Greek and Roman mythology, Elymus was the mythical ancestor of the Elymians, natives of Sicily. Elymus was a Trojan, a natural son of Anchises and a brother of Eryx....

and Agropyron

Agropyron

Agropyron is a genus of grasses , native to Europe and Asia. Species in the genus are commonly referred to as crested-wheat grasses...

species.

Subspecies

• Ochlodes sylvanoides sylvanoides (California, Mexico)
• Ochlodes sylvanoides pratincola (Boisduval, 1852)
• Ochlodes sylvanoides napa (Edwards, 1865)
• Ochlodes sylvanoides bonnevilla Scott, 1981 (Nevada) -Bonneville Skipper
• Ochlodes sylvanoides orecoasta Scott, 1981 (Oregon) -Oregon Coast Skipper
• Ochlodes sylvanoides santacruza Scott, 1981 (northern California)
• Ochlodes sylvanoides omnigena Austin, 1998 (Nevada, Great Basin)
• Ochlodes sylvanoides catalina Emmel & Emmel, 1998