BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Polites sabuleti
Sandhill Skipper
| Scientific Name: | Polites sabuleti |
|---|---|
| English Name: | Sandhill Skipper |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S2 |
| Date Status Assigned: | January 15, 2007 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | February 03, 2020 |
| Reasons: | Sandhill Skipper has a restricted range in BC, and is only known from the Okanagan, from Vernon to Osoyoos. Despite increased search efforts, only one new occurrence is known bringing the total of known occurrences to five. There are increased threats in this region, including habitat conversion for urban/agricultural use, causing extensive habitat fragmentation. Much of the land is in private ownership, and increased threats (over grazing, invasive species, forest encroachment, wildfires and pesticide drift/application) has caused further declines in viable element occurrences. The species is known to use Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon) and Eragrostis trichodes. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | E = 5,000-20,000 square km |
| Range Extent Comments: | Polites sabuleti is known from five occurrences in the south Okanagan valley to Vernon. The approximate range extent is 10,000 square km. |
| Area of Occupancy (km2): | U = Unknown |
| Linear Distance of Occupancy: | U = Unknown |
| Area of Occupancy Comments: | The area of occupancy is unknown. |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | B = 6 - 20 |
| Comments: | Four element occurrences are known in BC, including Mica Creek near Osoyoos (Kondla 2003) and through the south Okanagan valley to Vernon (Laberry et al. 1998). |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | The viability of element occurrences is unknown. The EO at Mica Creek is likely with good viability. |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | A = None |
| Comments: | No element occurrences are known from protected areas. |
| Population Size: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | No information is available on populations. |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | AB = Very high - high |
| Comments: |
Specific threats are unknown. Agricultural or urban development; natural processes such as wild fire; climatic change and variability, noxious weeds, intensive grazing of foodplants and consequential trampling of foodplants, and indirect harm to foodplants as a result of pesticide use . 2012: Threats to the species include periodic brush cutting and clearing along the Penticton canal; herbicide application along the Penticton canal. The species is known from the Penticton Canadian Tire parking lot and adjacent Okanagan College campus, but the campus has recently had construction so the popultaion has likely been impacted (Dyer pers. comm. 2012). The species was observed in 2008 (Heron pers. comm. 2012). |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | The Okanagan valley have been extensively modified by urban/rural/agricultural development over the past century, with more rapid development in the past ten years. The introduction of invasive weed species may be displacing the larval and nectar food plants. |
| Long-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | The Okanagan valley have been extensively modified by urban/rural/agricultural development over the past century. |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | U=Unknown |
| Environmental Specificity: | A=Very narrow. Specialist or community with key requirements scarce. |
| Comments: | Larvae depend on grasses including Desert Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon) and Blue Grass (Poa pratensis). Diffuse Knapweed (Centaurea diffusa), an invasive and introduced plant (Layberry et al. 1998). Eggs have been found on Eragrostis trichodes (Guppy and Shepard 2001), this may be a potential larval host in BC. |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | Research specific habitat requirements including food plant density and patch size. Species' dispersal capabilities, reproductive success and population viability should be determined; study of the potential impacts of predation, parasitism, climatic variation, small population size, and population isolation is also needed. Research the potential threats to habitat from fragmentation, invasive weeds, adjacent property management and wild fire. Research is also required to assess potential threats from pesticide use and heavy livestock grazing on all life stages. |
| Inventory Needs: | Inventory of the Okanagan valley, targeting open grassland environments. Inventory of potential habitat, population size and distribution is incomplete and requires additional surveys. Monitoring of population parameters including fluctuations in size, emigration, recruitment, persistence, dispersal distance, etc. is not available. A long term monitoring program must be established and implemented. |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | No sites are protected. This species should be noted in parks and protected areas. |
| Management: | Best management practices guidelines should be developed and implemented for right-of-way maintenance crews, private landowners, ranchers and local citizens. |
| Version | |
| Author: | Heron, J. |
| Date: | November 08, 2012 |
| References | |
| No references available | |
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2012. Conservation Status Report: Polites sabuleti. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 7, 2026).