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Urbanus simplicius

(Plain Longtail)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Plain Longtail

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 Urbanus simplicius

Long tails; brown wings . Upperside forewing marks are indistinct or lacking. Males have a costal fold enclosing scent scales on the leading edge of the forewing. Inner band of hindwing underside is connected to the brown spot near the costa . (ref. 104873)

Color:

Long tails; brown wings . Upperside forewing marks are indistinct or lacking. Males have a costal fold enclosing scent scales on the leading edge of the forewing. Inner band of hindwing underside is connected to the brown spot near the costa .

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 1/2 - 1 15/16 inches (3.8 - 5 cm).

Habitat

Seasonal lowland tropical forests and associated edges and openings.

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Legume vines including beans (Phaseolus). Adult food: Flower nectar.

Behavior

Flight: October-July in Mexico and Central America; April in South Texas.

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Urbanus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 12 species and subspecies in this genus:

U. belli (Double-Striped Longtail) · U. dorantes (Dorantes Longtail) · U. doryssus (White-Tailed Longtail) · U. esmeraldus (Esmeralda Longtail) · U. evona (Turquoise Longtail) · U. procne (Brown Longtail) · U. pronus (Pronus Longtail) · U. proteus (Bean Leafroller) · U. simplicius (Plain Longtail) · U. tanna (Tanna Longtail) · U. teleus (Teleus Longtail) · U. viterboana (Bluish Longtail)

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 17, 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: 7/21/2012