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Phocides pigmalion

(Mangrove Skipper)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Mangrove Skipper

Description

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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]

Physical Description

Color:

Wings are brown-black; hindwing has iridescent blue streaks both above and below.

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 7/8 - 2 3/4 inches (4.8 - 7 cm).

Habitat

Coastal mangrove thickets and openings.

Typically found in water with a depth of 0 to -102 meters (0 to -335 feet).[3]

Biome: Marine .

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: American mangrove (Rhizophora mangle). Adult food: Nectar including that of mangrove, shepherd's needle , citrus, and bougainvillaea flowers.

Reproduction

Flight is fast and powerful. Males perch to seek females, who deposit eggs singly on the host plant. Caterpillars eat leaves and live in shelters of silked-together leaves.

Behavior

Flight: November-August in southern Florida.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Phocides

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 6 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. belus (Beautiful Beamer) · P. palemon (Guava Skipper) · P. pigmalion (Mangrove Skipper) · P. pigmalion okeechobee (Batabano Skipper) · P. polybius (Bloody Spot) · P. urania (Jade Beamer)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=19&sci=Hesperiidae&com=Skippers [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Thessia&search=Search [back]
  3. Mean = -30.860 meters (-101.247 feet), Standard Deviation = 90.370 based on 14 observations. Ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/16/2012