BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Polites sabuleti
Sandhill Skipper
| Scientific Name: | Polites sabuleti (Boisduval, 1852) | ||||||||||
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| English Name: | Sandhill Skipper | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Pelham, J. P. 2008. A catalogue of the butterflies of the United States and Canada with a complete bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. Volume 40. 658 pp. Revised 14 February, 2012. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-POLSAB | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Oct 2023) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2 (Feb 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Facultative - frequent use
Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use Other Unique Habitats / Sand Dune / Facultative - frequent use |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | A complex variety of habitats from coastal dunes and salt marshes, alkalai grasslands to moist mountain meadows and lawns. The different subspecies may be more restricted than the species as a whole (see Scott, 1986). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), desert saltgrass (Distichlis spicata var. stricta), sand lovegrass (Eragrostis trichodes), rough bentgrass (Agrostis scabra), Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis), and alpine fescue (Festuca brachyphylla). Adult Food: Flower nectar (Lotts and Naberhaus 2017). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species occurs in western North America from southern British Columbia and eastern Washington south through California and northern Arizona to Baja California, Mexico; east to southeastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and northeastern New Mexico (Lotts and Naberhaus 2019). In addition, there are 2017 iNaturalist observations from Mazatlán, Mexico and Lima, Peru (GBIF 2020). It was added to the list of Hawaiian species by Scott (2008), but this is likely an introduction. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | May 08, 2001 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp. |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2001. Species Summary: Polites sabuleti. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 7, 2026).