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 Megathyminae
Giant-skippers are members of the Family Hesperiidae. These large robust insects comprise four genera and are limited to the United States and Mexico. Most species occur in the Southwest and adjacent desert portions of Mexico. Antennae are not hooked , and some species have a short apiculus . Males have long hairlike scales on the upper surface of the hindwings . Adult giant-skippers rarely feed , though males visit wet sand to imbibe moisture. Eggs are glued to host leaves (Megathymus and Stallingsia) or dropped into host plant clumps (Agathymus). Caterpillars burrow into host leaves and stems and feed within silk-lined tunnels. Pupae are formed in the larval tunnels and can move up and down . [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
- Subfamily:
Megathyminae
()
- Giant Skippers
- Genus:
Agathymus
()
- Specific name:
chisosensis
- Freeman 1952
- Scientific name: - Agathymus chisosensis Freeman 1952
- Specific name:
chisosensis
- Freeman 1952
- Genus:
Agathymus
(
- Subfamily:
Megathyminae
(
- 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 Agathymus
There are approximately 46 species in this genus:
A. alliae (Mojave Giant-Skipper) · A. aryxna (Arizona Giant-Skipper) · A. baueri (Bauer's Giant-Skipper) · A. baueri freemani (Freeman's Agave Borer) · A. belli · A. carlsbadensis · A. chinatiensis · A. chisosensis · A. comstocki · A. dawsoni · A. diabloensis · A. drucei · A. escalantei · A. estelleae · A. evansi (Huachuca Giant-Skipper) · A. fieldi · A. florenceae · A. freemani · A. gentryi (Gentry's Giant-Skipper) · A. gilberti · A. hoffmanni · A. indecisa · A. judithae · A. juliae · A. lajitaensis · A. mariae (Mary's Giant-Skipper) · A. mariae chinatiensis (Chinati Mountains Agave Borer) · A. mariae lajitaensis (Lajitas Agave Borer) · A. mariae rindgei (Rindge's Agave Borer) · A. mcalpinei · A. micheneri · A. neumoegeni (Orange Giant-Skipper) · A. neumoegeni carlsbadensis (Carlsbad Agave Borer) · A. neumoegeni chisosensis (Tawny Giant Skipper) · A. neumoegeni diabloensis (Diablo Mountains Agave Borer) · A. neumoegeni florenceae (Florence's Agave Borer) · A. neumoegeni judithae (Judith's Agave Borer) · A. neumoegeni mcalpinei (Mcalpine's Agave Borer) · A. polingi (Poling's Giant-Skipper) · A. remingtoni (Coahuila Giant-Skipper) · A. remingtoni valverdiensis (Coahuila Giant Skipper) · A. rethon · A. ricei · A. rindgei · A. stephensi (California Giant-Skipper) · A. valverdiensis
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
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: 2602335
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-180578.0
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1586630
