Description
Family Hesperiidae
'The Hesperiidae are members
of the Superfamily
Hesperioidea. Worldwide in distribution, skippers are richest in the tropics. More than 3,500 species are described, with approximately 275 in North America, many of which are found only in Arizona and Texas. Most skippers are small to medium, usually orange, brown, black, white, or gray. A few have iridescent
colors. Skippers have large eyes, short antennae (often with hooked
clubs), stout bodies, and three pairs of walking legs
. Their flight is often rapid, making wing movement appear blurred. Adults
of most species have long probicscises and feed
on floral
nectar, but some also take up nutrients
from bird droppings. Males have scent scales
found in modified forewing
patches. Males of most species locate mates by perching
(grass
and giant-skippers), though some patrol, especially in the open-winged skippers. Globular eggs
are laid singly.
'[1]
Subfamily Pyrginae
Pyrgines are primarily tropical American species of the Family Hesperiidae. There are approximately 80 North American species. Most genera are tropical, but the duskywings and checkered-skippers are mainly temperate and also occur in Eurasia . Adults of many species land with their wings open, although some perch with their wings closed or half open. They imbibe nectar from flowers, and males of many species take in moisture from moist sand or mud . Some adults also feed on bird droppings. Many tropical species rest underneath leaves when inactive . Females lay eggs singly. Most species lay eggs directly on host-plant leaves, while others lay on nearby plants or objects. Almost all species use broad-leafed plants as their caterpillar hosts, and caterpillars live in rolled-leaf or webbed-leaf shelters .[2]
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Hesperiidae
()
- Latreille, 1809
- Skippers
- Family:
Hesperiidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Provisionally Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: Beccaloni G.
Similar Species
Members of the genus Achalarus
There are approximately 17 species in this genus:
A. albociliatus (Skinner's Cloudywing) · A. casica (Desert Cloudywing) · A. coyote · A. epigena · A. hedysarum · A. jalapus (Jalapus Cloudywing) · A. leucophrys · A. lyciades (Hoary Edge) · A. lycidas · A. mithras · A. nigrociliata · A. nocera · A. orestes · A. pseudocellus · A. tehuacana · A. toxeus (Coyote Cloudywing) · A. xerxes
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Entomological news, and proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia[Entomological Rooms of the Academy of Natural Sciences] ENG url p. 423.
- Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- ENG url p. 10, p. 12, p. 289, p. 323, p. 37.
- Journal of the New York Entomological Society. Lawrence, Kan.: Allen Press [etc.] ENG url p. 232, p. 241, p. 247, p. 6.
- The butterflies of the eastern United States and Canada: with special reference to New England / By Samuel Hubbard Scudder. Cambridge: The author, 1889. ENG url p. 1332, p. 1333, p. 1418, p. 94.
- The butterfly book; a popular guide to a knowledge of the butterflies of North America, by W.J. Holland with 48 plates in color-photography, reproductions of butterflies in the author's collection, and many text illustrations presenting most of the sp New York, Doubleday, Page & Co., 1904. ENG url p. 325, p. 325.
Notes
Contributors
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
- The Global Lepidoptera Names Index2, 12.2, 2005.
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2970631
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-180449.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1586512
