Hewitson’s Aguna

Scientific Name
Aguna aurunce
HEWITSON, 1867
Specie in
Family
Hewitson’s Aguna
Aguna aurunce, Rio Tambo, Peru – Adrian Hoskins

Introduction

The Pyrginae, popularly known as Flats or Spreadwings, are a cosmopolitan subfamily distributed across temperate and tropical habitats throughout the world. In the Americas there are 990 species.

The Eudamini includes 44 genera in the Americas. There are several genera of Long-tailed Skippers Urbanus, Chioides, Polythrix, Typhedanus and Aguna; which together comprise of about 95 species.

The genus Aguna comprises of 26 medium-large neotropical skippers. All have a similar pattern of hyaline windows on the forewings, but the configuration varies from one species to another.

Many of the species including albistria, metophis, nicolayi, spicata, ganna and panama have long tail-like extensions to the hindwings. In others including asander, claxon, coelus, coeloides and aurunce these tails are vestigial. One feature common to all species is the presence of a prominent white median stripe on the underside hindwings. The body and wing-bases of many Aguna species are fluffy in appearance, being covered with metallic greenish hair-like scales. In aurunce these scales are golden in colour.

The most widespread and common member of the genus is asander, which has a very broad white band on the underside hindwing, short tails, and an olive-brown thorax.

Aguna aurunce is distributed from Colombia to Venezuela, south along the eastern Andes to Peru, and east into Rondonia, Brazil.

Habitats

This species is found in tropical forest at altitudes between about 200-1000m.

Lifecycle

Unknown.

Adult behaviour

Aguna are active in hot sunshine. They have a very rapid flight, but tend to settle for quite long periods to bask with wings half open on foliage.

More on this topic

Butterfly of
Scientific Name
Aguna aurunce
by
HEWITSON, 1867
Family
SubFamily
PYRGINAE
Tribe
EUDAMINI
SubTribe
N/A

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