Amblyscirtes vialis

Amblyscirtes vialis (the common roadside skipper) is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from British Columbia east across southern Canada to Maine and Nova Scotia, south to central California, northern New Mexico, Texas, the Gulf states and northern Florida.

Amblyscirtes vialis
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Amblyscirtes
Species:	A. vialis
Binomial name
Amblyscirtes vialis (Edwards, 1862)
Synonyms
Hesperia vialis Edwards, 1862 Cobalus asella Herrich-Schäffer, 1869

The wingspan is 22–32 mm. Adults are on wing from March to July. There is one generation per year and a partial second generation up to September in the south.

The larvae feed on various grasses including wild oats (Avena), bent grass (Agrostis), bluegrass (Poa), Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), and Indian woodoats grass (Chasmanthium latifolia). Adults feed on flower nectar, they prefer low-growing blue flowers including verbena and selfheal.^[2]

The species is listed as endangered in the Connecticut by state authorities.^[3]

common roadside skipper specimen