Zabulon Skipper Spouses?

Here are male and female Zabulon Skippers I met about 5 minutes apart; could they wind up in marital bliss? Well, probably not the way humans would define it. I believe that even if they did mate, a male defending a good territory will probably mate with more than 1 female, and after mating the female probably never sees her "husband" again.

And of course being 5 minutes away may mean that the female was actually in the territory of a completely different male, and she got together with that different male instead. Zabulons are fairly common butterflies, so the female probably didn't have to travel very far to find a receptive male.

The 1st picture shows the male Zabulon Skipper who's not feeding but probably looking for males to chase away and females to court. The 2nd picture shows a female who looks like she's nectaring on a Red Clover.

June 3, 2023 at John Clyde Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 300858592, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

June 3, 2023 at John Clyde Native Grassland Preserve
Photo 300858649, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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