Whirlabout

Whirlabout nectaring on Zinnia, Oct 2014

The Whirlabout (Polites vibex) is a small but lovely grass skipper found throughout the southeast of North America, the West Indies, Texas, Mexico and south into Argentina. In the warmer moths these tiny butterflies can migrate as far north as Ohio.

Their larval hosts are grasses, especially Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and thin paspalum (Paspalum setaceum).

These butterflies are quite small with a wingspan of about 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.9 cm). They are exceptionally fast fliers that seem to dart from one flower to the next with a speed that could almost convince you of teleportation.