Out of the more than 3500 species of skipper butterflies worldwide, there is only one that I can reliably identify, the Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus). I spotted this little beauty on Monday during a brief visit to Green Spring Gardens with my friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Now, that’s a skipper that would be easier to identify than some of the little brown jobs I see. That’s such a nice photo, too. I like the way it shows those little clubs on the end of the antennae that are typical of skippers.
Most of the skippers that I also see are the “little brown jobs” with variations so slight that I can’t tell the species apart. That is why I am so happy to see this one, especially when it was willing to pose momentarily for me.
I love the color composition in this photo, Mike.
Beautiful Image Mike! It is nice when they cooperate so you can get your shot!
What a gorgeous photo. 😊
In our local area, I have a chance of recognizing familiar skippers. Once in a new locale, all bets are off!
Very nice photograph, Mike!
We have a Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma) which looks nothing like your new world version.
Lovely shot Mike.
It’s cool that we use the same same name for different skipper species, just as we do for robins. I checked out a photo of your Silver-spotted Skipper and saw that, as you noted, it does not look anything like ours.
One of my favorites, too. Charming capture!
No skippers in NZ–too bad. I just love seeing them in MN, and they loved our garden in Omaha, too. Do you know what the flower was?
I will have to check with my friend Cindy and see if she recognizes the flower.
Yep, same one I know on sight. All the others are too confusing without a guide book. Nice shot, Mike.
Thanks, Steve. We are blessed to have a real abundance of wildlife species in the areas in which we live and it is hard to get up to speed on all of them. I think that insect specialists tend to focus on a particular type of insects and not all of them. During a visit to the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC last year, I chatted a bit with a guy who specialized in beetles, especially dung beetles, if I remember correctly.
Yes there is quite a bit of specialization. If you visit BugGuide you will find that there are experts on almost every, order, family, genus, and in some cases, even specific species. And even at that, those folks can be just as stumped as we are on occasion.