This is one of the commonest and most widely distributed of all our Skippers. It is found from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, south along the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico, Texas, and Florida. It is apparently absent west of the Rocky Mountains and along the Gulf Coast except in Florida. Its life-history was carefully worked out by Dr. James Fletcher, late entomologist to the Dominion of Canada, and in the north may be summarized thus: the butterflies come from the hibernated chrysalids in May or June. They remain upon the wing for several weeks so that worn specimens may be taken late in July or, rarely, even early in August. The females lay eggs upon grass blades. These eggs hatch about two weeks later, the larvae eating their way out of the shells so slowly that a whole day may be taken up by the operation. Each little caterpillar weaves a silken nest for itself, in which it remains concealed most of the time, reaching out to feed upon adjacent blades of grass but retiring into the nest at the least alarm. It is a sluggish little creature and grows so slowly that in the north it may require more than two months to become full fed as a larva. It is then about an inch long and has the characteristic outlines of the other Skipper larvae, with a black head and a greenish brown body. It now spins a cocoon, possibly using its larval nest as a basis, and some time later, before cold weather surely, it changes to a chrysalis that winters over. This is the story of the life of the butterfly in the more northern parts of its range. Even in New Hampshire there seems to be at least a partial second brood, and farther south there are probably two regular broods with the possibility that a small percentage of the first set of chrysalids remains unchanged until spring. =The Roadside Skipper= _Amblyscirtes vialis_ This little butterfly is found apparently in most parts of the United States, as it has been collected in New England, California, Texas, and many intermediate points. Over the northern part of its range there is but one brood a year. In New Hampshire the butterflies appear in May and early June and lay eggs upon the blades of various grasses. These hatch about ten days later into slender, silk-spinning caterpillars, each of which makes a nest for itself by sewing together the margin of one or more grass blades. When the larvae get larger, they make larger and denser nests with heavy linings of silken web. After the earlier moults, the thin skin is covered with very fine snow-white hairs, between which there is developed a curious whitish exudation, so that the caterpillars have a flocculent appearance. When full grown, they change to delicate green chrysalids which apparently in the North remain until the following spring before disclosing the butterflies. In more southern regions there are two broods each summer. =The Least Skipper= _Ancyloxipha numitor_