Overview
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. [1]
Photos
Taxonomy
The Subfamily Megathyminae is a member of the Family Hesperiidae. Here is the complete "parentage" of Megathyminae:
- Domain: Eukaryota
Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia
Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Cohort: Myoglossata
- Order: Lepidoptera
Linnaeus, 1758 - Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder: Heteroneura
- a genus of Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae)
- Family: Hesperiidae
Latreille, 1809 - Skippers
- Subfamily: Megathyminae - Giant Skippers
- Family: Hesperiidae
Latreille, 1809 - Skippers
- Infraorder: Heteroneura
- a genus of Longhorned Beetles (Cerambycidae)
- Order: Lepidoptera
Linnaeus, 1758 - Butterflies and Moths
- Cohort: Myoglossata
- Infraclass: Pterygota
- Winged Insects
- Subclass: Dicondylia
- Class: Insecta
C. Linnaeus, 1758 - Insects
- Superclass: Panhexapoda
- Infraphylum: Atelocerata
Heymons, 1901
- Subphylum: Mandibulata
Snodgrass, 1938
- Phylum: Arthropoda
Latreille, 1829 - Arthropods
- Superphylum: Panarthropoda
Cuvier
- Infrakingdom: Ecdysozoa
Aguinaldo Et Al., 1997 Ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998 - ecdysozoans
- Branch: Protostomia
Grobben, 1908 - protostomes
- Subkingdom: Bilateria
(Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
- Kingdom: Animalia
Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
The Subfamily Megathyminae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Genus (3): Agathymus · Megathymus · Stallingsia
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 99 species and subspecies in the Subfamily Megathyminae.
Genera
Agathymus
Megathymus
Stallingsia
At least 4 species and subspecies belong to the Genus Stallingsia.
More info about the Genus Stallingsia may be found here.
Footnotes
Sources
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