Sandhill Skipper on Marsh Milkweed

Description:

Asclepias incarnata receiving a vist from a butterfly with wing patterns and other characteristics that seem to indicate that it is a Sandhill Skipper, Polites sabuleti. This was one of the few Marsh milkweeds still in flower; the other milkweed plant in flower was behind me and received a visit from a hummingbird. This butterfly is found from moist meadows as here to sagebrush flats, grasslands and sand dunes to even alpine pastures. Both butterfly and milkweed are locally native species.August 17, 2014, Salt Lake County, Utah, approx. 4300 ft. elev.