Dotted Skipper 
Hesperia attalus

Dotted Skipper is very rare in the Sandhills and Coastal Plain. The last verified record was in sandhill habitat in Crawford County on August 7, 1976 (photos)(Butterflies of America). In recent years, it was found on October 10, 2014 at Ralph Simmons State Forest, Nassau County, FL a stone’s throw from the St. Mary’s River, which is the Georgia-Florida line in Charlton County, GA. It was found again in that location in October 2018. It also occurs in Aiken State Park, SC, which is near the Georgia line in Burke County. Ron Gatrelle wrote that he recorded it in Burke County without details. The hostplant is likely switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) in the Sandhills and wiregrass (Aristida) in the Lower Coastal Plain. It likes fire-maintained habitats, sandhills and sunny longleaf pine forests, sand barrens and dry meadows within preferred areas.” Cech and Tudor, 2005. The flight period in the Sandhills is early August (August 7, Crawford County) and September and October along the Florida line. Conservation Status: All colonies should be protected. There is much good habitat that has never been searched.