Euphyes vestris

Euphyes vestris
Euphyes vestris metacomet
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Euphyes
Species:	E. vestris
Binomial name
Euphyes vestris (Boisduval, 1852)
Synonyms
Hesperia vestris Boisduval, 1852 Hesperia ruricola Boisduval, 1852 Euphyes ruricola Pamphila osceola Lintner, 1878 Pamphila californica Mabille, 1883 Hesperia metacomet Harris, 1862 Pamphila rurea Edwards, 1862 Hesperia osyka Edwards, 1867 Hesperia baeis Scudder, 1889 (nomen nudum)

Euphyes vestris, the dun skipper, sedge witch or dun sedge skipper, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia west across southern Canada to southern Alberta, south to Florida, the Gulf Coast and eastern Texas. There are disjunct populations in the High Plains and Rocky Mountains and along the Pacific Coast.

The wingspan is 29–35 mm. Adults are on wing in July in one generation per year. They feed on the nectar from white, pink and purple flowers, including Asclepias syriaca, Vicia americana, Prunella, Mentha × piperita, Apocynum, Ceanothus americanus and Echium vulgare.

The larvae feed on various sedges, including Cyperus esculentus and Carex heliophila.

Subspecies

• Euphyes vestris vestris (California)
• Euphyes vestris metacomet (Harris, 1862) (from Alberta east through the southern parts of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick, southeast through Montana, South Dakota, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, and eastward to the Atlantic coast)
• Euphyes vestris kiowah (Reakirt, 1866)
• Euphyes vestris harbisoni Brown & McGuire, 1983 (California)