Two things stand out about the long-tailed skipper, Urbanus proteus: the long tail, of course, and the iridescent blue-green streak down this butterfly's body. They make the long-tailed one of the more colorful members of the skipper family and easy to identify.

Long-tails actually are common butterflies in South Florida, common, in fact, throughout the Sunshine State. They're found in all of the state's 67 counties as well as throughout the southeastern United States, up the Atlantic Coast as far north as Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut, straying occasionally to Massachusetts. They're found far west as southern Arizona and California. Their range extends south through the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America to Argentina. The long-tail population is considered secure throughout its range.

Long-tail skippers are active all year in Florida, but can't take sustained cold. Come fall, they're pretty much limited to the warmth of Florida's Peninsula and South Texas. Come the warmth of spring, they'll return back north. At least three generations are born during the year in areas where it winters over and as few as one in the north.

Their habitats includes disturbed sites, such as old fields and roadsides, open woods, the edges of woodlands and even backyard gardens. (The skipper in these photos was nectaring on pentas in my yard). They are middling in size, with a wingspan between an inch-and-a-half and two-and-a-half inches. Long-tail skipper adults aren't picky diners; they'll take nectar from just about any flowering plant that offers. Lantana, spanish needles and bougainvillea are among the many they're attracted to.