Skippers are pretty cool little butterflies. They’re called skippers because the have a fast, undulating flight pattern that really does remind one of a child skipping. We have several types of skippers here in Florida, but during the spring the most common one that I see are these fiery skippers (Hylephila phyieus). There are three subspecies that range from southern Canada to Argentina. They’re a sexually dimorphic species with males, like the two shown here, being a bright orange, while females are a more brownish color. Both sexes may have one or more dark brown or black spots on the wings. The adults feed on nectar of many types of flowers, but larvae feed on grasses, and are especially fond of turf grasses such as Bermuda grass and St. Augustine grass. Right now these little guys and girls are all over the place. As summer progresses some of the other species will become more prominent, but some of the fiery skippers will be around until the first frost.