Silver-spotted Skipper -First of Year- (Epargyreous clarus) Worcester County, Maryland
This robust skipper was having a great time eagerly sipping nectar from the blooms of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellatus), a deciduous shrub native to Asia introduced into the U.S. as an ornamental plant in 1830.
Regrettably, Autumn Olive is highly adaptable and resilient spreading uncontrollably in the warming climate of the Mid-Atlantic states where entire alleys of this large shrub can be found along forest edges, in sunny clearings and meadows and along fence rows and roadsides. With enticingly fragrant flowers, Autumn Olive attracts pollinators in early spring and later in the fall it attracts birds that help to disperse its abundant fruit.
Silver-spotted Skipper -First of Year- (Epargyreous clarus) Worcester County, Maryland
This robust skipper was having a great time eagerly sipping nectar from the blooms of Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellatus), a deciduous shrub native to Asia introduced into the U.S. as an ornamental plant in 1830.
Regrettably, Autumn Olive is highly adaptable and resilient spreading uncontrollably in the warming climate of the Mid-Atlantic states where entire alleys of this large shrub can be found along forest edges, in sunny clearings and meadows and along fence rows and roadsides. With enticingly fragrant flowers, Autumn Olive attracts pollinators in early spring and later in the fall it attracts birds that help to disperse its abundant fruit.