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Pyrgus albescens

(White Checkered)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

White Checkered, White Checkered-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

Species Pyrgus albescens

Paler than Pyrgus communis. Male often has complete black checks in wing fringes . Upperside of male is blue-gray; female is black. Both sexes have large white spots which form median bands across both wings. Male has a costal fold enclosing scent scales on the upperside of the forewing . Underside is dull white with dark gray bands. Positive identification can be made only by dissection and scrutiny of the male genitalia . (ref. 104974)

Color:

Paler than Pyrgus communis. Male often has complete black checks in wing fringes . Upperside of male is blue-gray; female is black. Both sexes have large white spots which form median bands across both wings. Male has a costal fold enclosing scent scales on the upperside of the forewing . Underside is dull white with dark gray bands. Positive identification can be made only by dissection and scrutiny of the male genitalia .

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.8 cm).

Habitat

Open, sunny places with low vegetation and some bare soil including prairies, fields , roadsides, yards , gardens, and low deserts.

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Not reliably reported. Probably several plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae) including globemallows (Sphaeralcea), velvet-leaf (Abutilon), and poppy mallow (Callirhoe). Adult food: Nectar from a variety of plants.

Reproduction

Similar to that of Common Checkered-skipper.

Behavior

Flight: All year in South Texas, most of the year elsewhere.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Pyrgus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 27 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. albescens (White Checkered) · P. alveus (Large Grizzled Skipper) · P. alveus alveus (Large Grizzled Skipper) · P. andromedae (Alpine Grizzled Skipper) · P. armoricanus (Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper) · P. bellieri (Foulquiers Grizzled Skipper) · P. cacaliae (Dusky Grizzled Skipper) · P. carlinae (Carline Skipper) · P. carthami (Safflower Skipper) · P. centaureae (Grizzled Skipper) · P. centaureae freija (Freija's Grizzled Skipper) · P. cirsii (Cinquefoil Skipper) · P. communis (Common Checkered) · P. malvae (Grizzled Skipper) · P. malvae malvae (Grizzled Skipper) · P. malvoides (Southern Grizzled Skipper) · P. oileus (Tropical Checkered) · P. philetas (Desert Checkered-Skipper) · P. ruralis (Two-Banded Checkered-Skipper) · P. ruralis lagunae (Laguna Mountains Skipper) · P. scriptura (Small Checkered-Skipper) · P. serratulae (Olive Skipper) · P. sidae (Yellow-Banded Skipper) · P. sidae sidae (Yellow-Banded Skipper) · P. warrenensis (Warren's Skipper) · P. wyandot (Appalachian Checkered-Skipper) · P. xanthus (Mountain Checkered)

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]
Last Revised: 7/16/2012