"... the most abundant blackish-brown skipper in the Houston area ... Both sexes have a band of three white dots in a straight line near the tip of the forewing. The male usually has one or two other small white spots; the female several larger ones. This pattern is visible on both forewing surfaces. A strong black stigma marks the males forewing above, but this scent patch is inconspicuous against the dark ground color. The hindwings of both sexes are beautifully shaded and mottled with violet-blue ..."

This is another view that shows a little more detail.

Not all Clouded Skippers will be "mottled with violet-blue.".

Photograph taken with a Nikon D80, using a Nikon 200mm, f/4 micro, manual focus lens.

September 23, 2007