Long Tailed Skippers: Gimme Shelter

Long-Tailed Skippers (Urbanus proteus) are a fantastic and fast flying little butterfly with white spotted wings and a furry blue-green colored body.

Their larva have a very interesting way of helping to protect themselves from predators. These tiny little caterpillars, also known as "bean leaf rollers", will chew one the leaves of their host plants and leave a flap of leaf. Using silk from their spinnerets the caterpillars will fold the leaf flap over and secure it to the leaf. This creates tiny little pockets on the leaves in which the caterpillars can hide.

As they get larger leaf rolling caterpillars will roll whole leaves up into tubes or sometimes connect several leaves together to hide their larger bodies. Long Tailed Skippers aren't the only caterpillars that make leaf shelters. The larvae of the Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) roll leaves of camphor and red bay into long tubes for shelter. Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) caterpillars consuming cudweed (Gnaphalium)will use the fluffy seeds of the plant and silk to create a puff ball at the top of the plants in which they can hide. Brazillian Skippers (Calpodes ethlius) larvae roll the huge leaves of canna lilies into long tubes using only their tiny strands of silk.

For butterfly gardeners, these rolled leaves and other caterpillar shelters tell us we are on the right track when searching for larvae. Sometimes it is much easier to look for the signs that a caterpillar has been in an area rather than looking for the caterpillar itself. Leaf damage and leaf shelters are sure signs that caterpillars are on your plants and let you know to pay special attention to certain areas in your search for bugs.