Panoquina hecebolus (Hecebolus Skipper)

Common Names

Common Names in English:

Hecebolus Skipper

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 Hesperiinae

The grass skippers are members of the Family Hesperiidae. Distributed worldwide, they comprise more than 2,000 species, most of which are found in the American tropics. The small to medium-sized adults usually have abruptly angled antennae with an apiculus at the tip . Adults of many temperate species are predominantly orange, while brown is the most common color of the tropical species. Male forewings usually have a brand or stigma with specialized scales . Most species have long proboscises and are avid flower-visitors. Adults flight is rapid, and perching posture is unique: the hindwings are opened at a wider angle than the forewings. Males of most species perch while looking for mates. Caterpillars feed on monocotyledons (grasses and allied plants ) and live in silken leaf nests that sometimes extend underground. Grass skippers typically overwinter as caterpillars within their shelters .[2]

Physical Description

Species Panoquina hecebolus

Wings are brown. Upperside of forewing has a few pale spots; male has a round spot in the cell . Underside of the hindwing has veins lighter than the background; rarely with a purple sheen or a band of spots. (ref. 105456)

Color:

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 3/16 - 1 1/2 inches (3.1 - 3.9 cm).

Habitat

Open subtropical scrub and wood edges .

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Unknown. Adult food: Flower nectar.

Behavior

Flight: October-November in South Texas; throughout the year in Mexico.

Taxonomy

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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: Hesperiinae () - Grass Skippers
        Genus: Panoquina ()
        Specific name: hecebolus - (Scudder, 1872)
        Scientific name: - Panoquina hecebolus (Scudder, 1872)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Panoquina

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 46 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. arrans · P. belli · P. bola · P. californica · P. calna · P. chapada · P. chlorus · P. cineas · P. cochles · P. confusa · P. corrupta · P. errans (Wandering Skipper) · P. eugeon · P. evadnes · P. evansi (Evans' Skipper) · P. fonda · P. fufidia · P. fusina (Evans' Skipper) · P. fusina fusina · P. grapte · P. hecebola (Hecebolus Skipper) · P. hecebolus (Hecebolus Skipper) · P. heterospila · P. jumbo · P. leucas (Purple-Washed Skipper) · P. lucas (Purple-Washed Skipper) · P. luctuosa · P. nero · P. ocola (Ocola Skipper) · P. ophis · P. ortygia · P. panoquin (Salt Marsh Skipper) · P. panoquinoides (Obscure Skipper) · P. panoquinoides panoquinoides (Obscure Skipper) · P. parilis · P. pauper · P. pauper grapte · P. peraea · P. sonta · P. stratyllis · P. sylvicola (Purple-Washed Skipper) · P. trix · P. vimico · P. viola · P. wimico · P. woodruffi

More Info

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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

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Contributors

Bisby FA, Roskov YR, Orrell TM, Nicolson D, Paglinawan LE, Bailly N, Kirk PM, Bourgoin T, van Hertum J, eds (2008). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist Taxonomic Classification. CD-ROM; Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 26, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:

University of Helsinki, Department of Applied Biology: Rancho Grande

Identifiers

Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2602482
Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-186130.0
Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1591957

Footnotes

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=19&sci=Hesperiidae&com=Skippers [back]
http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Stinga&search=Search [back]