Hobbies And Interests
Skippers
There are about 280 species of skippers north of Mexico, with many of them occurring in the southern U.S. Skipper caterpillars feed at night and rest in leaf shelters during the day. The hobomok skipper, like most skipper caterpillars, has a large head, a "neck" and a fat, fuzzy, sluglike body. It's tan to orange-brown with dark spots. It grows to .984 inches and mature caterpillars are found from March to May in woods, forest clearings and edges, parks and stream courses of northeastern Oklahoma. It eats panic grass, love grass and purple top grasses.
Fritillaries
Fritillaries are members of the brushfoot family; there are about 6000 species all over the world and their caterpillars are very diverse. The great spangled fritillary has a nearly black caterpillar that grows to 2.165 inches long. It has grayish spots down its abdomen and orange warts that hold black bristles. It lives in the open woodlands, wet and dry meadows, fields, pastures and powerline right-of-ways in northeastern Oklahoma. Mature caterpillars are found in May and June. The great spangled fritillary caterpillar eats violets, though the female rarely lays lays her eggs on the foodplant. The hatchling caterpillars drink water but don't eat for seven to eight months; most of them starve to death.
Nymphs and Satyrs
These butterflies are common, but their caterpillars are rarely seen because they also feed at night. The little wood satyr is light brown, fuzzy and grows to 1.18 inches long. It lives in the woods, forest edges, wooded swamps, brushy fields, yards and other places near human habitations in Oklahoma. Like other nymph and satyr larvae, it eats grasses, including orchard grass and blue grass.
Coppers
Coppers also have short, wide, flattened sluglike bodies. They are often attended by ants because they excrete a sugary substance the ants like; sometimes the ants will even carry the caterpillar back and forth between the ant nest and the caterpillar's foodplant. The bronze copper is a caterpillar with a small head and green body freckled with white; mature caterpillars are found from July to September in northeastern Oklahoma. It eats dock and is most likely found, like its relative the American copper, in fields, powerline right-of-ways, pastures, waste places and other open habitats. It can grow to .591 inches or more.