Introduction

There are 8 species in the genus Aphrissa.

On the upperside the male of statira is deep yellow at the base of the wings, with the outer third of both wings being a much paler greenish yellow. The female is a unicolorous lemon yellow, with a black spot in the fw discal cell, black wing margins and a black apex. The underside of the wings in both sexes has a lustrous appearance.

Aphrissa statira is by far the most widely distributed and abundant species. It is found from Florida to Bolivia.

Habitats

This butterfly is usually seen along riverbanks and other open habitats, at altitudes between about 0-1600m. It is commonest between about 200-800m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are laid singly on the leaves of the larval foodplants.

The caterpillars use a variety of hostplants including Cassia, Dalbergia and Entada (Leguminosae), Callichamys (Bignoniaceae) and Calliandra (Mimosaceae). DeVries considers that there may be two separate species under the name statira, as there are 2 larval forms which use host plants. The form which feeds on Leguminosae is orange, tinged with greenish, and has a dark bluish band below the spiracles, and an orange head. The form that feeds on Bignoniaceae has a green head and a pale green body with a thin yellow lateral stripe.

The chrysalis (Jamaican form) varies in colour from grey to pale bluish-green, and has a thin reddish line along the back and a cream lateral line.

Adult behaviour

The butterfly is strongly migratory in behaviour, flying upriver in the latter part of the dry season, and downriver towards the sea in the wet season. It often continues out onto the open sea and colonises islands e.g. in the Antilles. The flight is fast and direct, as is typical of migratory species.

Males are commonly found in groups, imbibing moisture from damp sand on river beaches. These groups are often tightly packed, with up to 100 butterflies crammed together on a square foot or less of ground. The butterflies sometimes form exclusive groups, but just as frequently intermingle with other pale coloured genera including Rhabdodryas, Phoebis and Protesilaus.

Females do not visit sandbanks, but can be seen nectaring at flowers, and are particularly attracted to red or orange flowers such as Lantana.

Introduction

The subfamily Coliadinae includes the Sulphurs, Grass Yellows, Clouded Yellows and Brimstones. In the neotropical region there are about 70 species.

The genus Phoebis comprises of 8 species, most of which are strongly migratory in behaviour. They are widely distributed across the region, with 3 exceptions: avellaneda which is endemic to Cuba, editha from Hispaniola, and the Ecuadorian species bourkei.

All Phoebis species are sexually dimorphic. Males are bright yellow above, with a thick patch of matt androconial scales around the forewing cell. Females are paler on both wing surfaces.

Phoebis philea is found from Mexico to Peru, and also occurs on many of the Caribbean islands.

Habitats

As with other Phoebis species, philea is highly migratory in behaviour and can thus be found in a wide variety of habitats including primary and secondary rainforest, deciduous woodland, scrubby grassland and farmland; at altitudes between sea level and about 1500m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are yellow and laid singly on young leaves of Cassia (Caesalpinaceae). The larva when fully grown is pale green and covered with greenish-black dots. There is a broad straw-coloured band along the sides, above which is a series of short blackish vertical bands. The pupa is pinkish, with the wing venation picked out in pale green, and a prominent pale green lateral line.

Adult behaviour

Males are usually seen in lower numbers than sennae or argante, but can often be found amongst mud-puddling aggregations of other Phoebis species. These insects often form very tightly packed groups of dozens of individuals. If alarmed the entire group erupts spontaneously into the air and swirls about for several minutes afterwards in a seething mass of fluttering yellow wings.

The paler females are seen less often, and are usually observed in flight, or when nectaring at red flowers such as Lantana and Impatiens. There is no courtship ritual – the females are intercepted in mid-flight and forced to the ground where copulation takes place immediately.

Introduction

The tribe Melitaeini is of worldwide distribution. It includes the Crescents and Checkerspots of North America, and also many familiar European species such as the Marsh, Spotted and Heath Fritillaries.

There are 33 Chlosyne species of which 29 occur in North America and/or Mexico, while the rest are found variously from Guatemala to Argentina. Many Chlosyne species are characterised by having a patchwork of black, yellow and red/orange markings; while others are fritillary-like in appearance, with a network or dark veins and lines on an orange-brown ground colour.

Chlosyne lacinia is the most widespread and abundant member of the genus, being found from the southern states of the USA to Bolivia and Argentina. There are 4 subspecies, each differing greatly from the others in appearance.

Habitats

This species is found along roadsides, forest edges, cattle pastures and other open sunny disturbed habitats, at altitudes between 0-1400m.

Lifecycle

The eggs are bright orange-yellow. They are laid in untidy heaps of up to 3 layers deep beneath the underside of Helianthus leaves ( Asteraceae ). The caterpillars occur in several colour forms ranging from black to orange, and are covered with short spines. They are diurnal and feed gregariously in the early instars. In the USA they are a commercial pest of sunflowers. These plants contain toxins which are ingested by the larvae and passed on to the adult butterflies, rendering them noxious to birds. The pupae are straw coloured, compact in dimensions, and have a slightly waxy surface.

Adult behaviour

Males are usually seen either when nectaring at Asteraceae, or when imbibing mineralised moisture from patches of damp ground. Females when freshly emerged are so heavily laden with eggs that they are barely capable of flying.

Introduction

This species has at various times been classified under several different genera including Plebejus, Pseudaricia, Eudemonia, Aricia and Ultraaricia. Phylogenetics is not an exact science, so different workers reach different conclusions about the evolution and relationships between various species.

Currently some authorities place icarioides in the genus Aricia which comprises of about 30 species distributed variously across North America, Europe and temperate Asia. Aricia is split into several subgroups. The 7 North American species being placed in the icarioides group, but this subgroup is elevated to the rank of genus by other authorities. The icarioides subgroup are therefore placed in this new genus Icaricia.

The males of most species including icarioides are metallic blue, with narrow suffused dark brown borders. Most are otherwise unmarked except for a small dark dash at the end of the discal cell. In lupini, cotundra and neurona however males have a series of orange submarginal lunules on their upperside hindwings. The females of all species are brown, and usually have orange lunules on the hindwings. Females of cotundra, lupini and some subspecies of icarioides and saepiolus have a metallic blue sheen but this is not as intense or extensive as in the males.

The commonest and most widely distributed species is icarioides . It is found in Mexico, the Rocky Mountain states of the USA, and in the border region around British Columbia and Alberta.

Habitats

This species breeds in alpine meadows and pastures, and on flowery open grasslands.

Lifecycle

The egg is greenish-white and is laid singly on the leaves, stems, flowers and seed pods of Lupinus ( Fabaceae ). The larva hibernates in the 2nd instar amongst leaf litter at the base of the foodplant, and resumes feeding in spring, when it is attended by ants. When fully grown the larva is mid-green with a dark purplish dorsal stripe, and feint whitish diagonal bars along the back and sides. There is also a dark purplish-red morph of the larva.

Adult behaviour

Males imbibe mineralised moisture from damp ground, either singly or in aggregations with other Polyommatines. They patrol constantly in search of females and are easy to find, but the females are sedentary in behaviour and harder to locate. Mated pairs can sometimes be found basking with wings in the characteristic three-quarters open position. They remain in copula for about an hour.

Introduction

There are 16 species in the genus Poanes, of which 9 occur north of Mexico. A further 6 species are found in various parts of Central America, and a single species zachaeus occurs in Surinam.

Poanes zabulon is sexually dimorphic – males have a distinctive cream and tan underside, while in females it is brown, marked with faint spots and a bluish margin – hence the alternative English name of Southern Dimorphic Skipper.

This species is found central and south-eastern states of the USA.

Habitats

Poanes zabulon is found in open deciduous woodland, preferring shady areas. It occurs at altitudes between sea level and at least 1200m.

Lifecycle

The egg is globular and creamy. It is laid singly on the underside of a grass blade. The larva lives solitarily. It spends the day hiding within a shelter constructed by spinning together grass blades, and crawls up the stem to feed during the night. It feeds on a wide variety of grasses including Poa, Tridens, Eragrostis, Puccinellia, Agropyron, Dactylis, Elymus and Agrostis. The chrysalis is formed within the larval shelter.

Adult behaviour

Males commonly imbibe moisture from damp ground. They perch on tall grasses or on bushes to await passing females. Both sexes take nectar from a wide variety of herbaceous flowers.

Introduction

There are 25 Hesperia species distributed variously across the temperate and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia and North America. The genus is closely allied to Polites and two genera share many common characteristics. Both for example have underside hindwings with a distinctive configuration of white spots, and the males of both genera have conspicuous black androconial on the forewings.

Hesperia comma is one of the most widely distributed skipper species in the world. It occurs in Alaska, over most of Canada, and across the western half of the USA. Beyond North America it is found across the whole of Europe, and in the Atlas mountains of north Africa. Its range extends eastward across temperate and subarctic Asia to Siberia, Amurland and China.

Habitats

This species occurs in a wide range of grassy habitats including alpine meadows, open woodlands and tundra edge grasslands.

Lifecycle

In Europe and most of North America the butterfly is univoltine, but in Alaska the lifecycle takes two years to complete, the first winter being spent as an egg and the second as a fully grown caterpillar or chrysalis.

Ovipositing females dart about close to the ground and alight randomly on short grasses. They then thrust their abdomen forward to lay a single egg on a grass blade without any investigative hopping or walking about. After ovipositing they usually rest for a few seconds while before flying to another similar nearby spot where they repeat the process.

The straw-coloured eggs are laid singly on the narrow leaf blades of grasses including Festuca, Poa, Muhlenbergia, Stipa, Andropogon, Lolium, Bromus and Bouteloua ( Poaceae ). The larvae are fully developed within the eggs by early autumn, but do not hatch until the following March. They feed nocturnally on the fine tender leaf blades, sheltering by day in a flimsy silken tent spun at the base of a grass tuft. The fully grown larva is dark green with wrinkled skin, and a black head. The pupa is dark brown with blackish wing cases. It is formed within a cocoon of coarse silk at the base of grass tufts. The butterfly develops very quickly, emerging after only about 7 days.

Adult behaviour

The adults are extremely active, zipping and darting about in every direction just above the surface of the ground. Males occupy loosely defined overlapping territories where they dart from flower to flower, stopping periodically to perch on low herbage or on a patch of bare ground. They dart up to intercept and investigate any small rapidly flying insect including flies, bees and wasps as well as other butterflies. They are very pugnacious in nature, and will chase off even the largest and most powerful butterflies. During male / male encounters, the butterflies zigzag frenetically just above the ground, and then spiral upwards in tight circles until the weaker male is ousted, whereupon the other male returns to within a few metres of it’s original position.

When a virgin female is encountered she is abruptly forced to land on the ground, usually in a tuft of grass, where she vibrates her wings rapidly. The male lands alongside her, and buzzes excitedly around her, showering her with pheromones from his androconial scales. The female then flies in a series of short hops, until she finds a comfortable spot to settle, and the male then settles by her side, curving his abdomen round until he engages her. He then slowly turns to face away from her, after which the pair remain stationary in copulation for about 2 hours.

When a gravid female is encountered the ritual begins the same way, but after settling together 3 or 4 times in succession without successfully copulating the male flies off. There does not appear to be any visual rejection signal given to the unwanted male, so presumably mating only takes place of the female is receptive to the male pheromones.

Both sexes nectar avidly at a wide variety of low growing flowers, favouring Euphrasia, Trifolium, Cirsium, Sedum, Lotus and Scabiosa.

Introduction

In the Americas there are 2365 known species of Hesperiidae. These are split into 5 subfamilies i.e. Pyrrhopyginae, Heteropterinae, Megathyminae, Pyrginae and Hesperiinae. The Hesperiines of which there are about 1040 species, are known as Grass Skippers because their larvae feed on grasses, bamboos and other monocotyledons.

There are 11 species in the genus Thymelicus. One species is endemic to north Africa, 7 are native to temperate Asia, and 2 are found in both Europe and north Africa. The remaining species lineola is native to Europe, temperate Asia and the Mediterranean coast of north Africa, but was accidentally introduced to Canada in 1910. It showed a remarkable ability to colonise, and within a few decades had spread across much of North America. It is believed that the major cause of this expansion was the transportation of lineola eggs in hay bales – in one study over 5000 eggs were found in a single bale. Thymelicus lineola is now common across the eastern half of the USA, and has formed small colonies as far west as Washington.

Habitats

This species is found in rough grassy habitats including dry meadows, woodland clearings, coastal dunes, roadsides and railway embankments.

Lifecycle

The eggs are lozenge-shaped and milky white in colour. They are laid in strings of 3 or 4, inserted into the flower sheaths of various grasses, primarily Phleum ( Poaceae ).The eggs are laid in July, and by early August the tiny larvae are fully developed, but do not hatch until the following spring.

The larva lives within a shelter made by rolling a blade of grass into a tube, which is held together with strands of silk. It hides within the tube during the daytime, and feeds at dusk, although fully grown caterpillars can sometimes by found basking in full sunlight on grass blades. The chrysalis thin and green, and has white palpi. It is formed within a very loose shelter constructed by spinning together rolled grass blades at the base of a tussock.

Adult behaviour

In common with most other grass-feeding skippers the butterflies have a rapid, buzzing, purposeful flight, ‘skipping’ from flower to flower. They nectar at a wide range of wild flowers including Aster, Scabiosa, Cirsium, Carduus, Lotus, Senecio, Eupatorium and Trifolium.

Introduction

The genus Wallengrenia comprises of 7 species, of which two – otho and egeremet, occur in North America. The other species are premnas from South America; misera from Cuba and the northern Bahamas; drury from the southern Bahamas, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico; vesuria from Jamaica, and ophites from Trinidad and the Lesser Antilles.

W. otho and egeremet are very similar in appearance and can only reliably be distinguished from each other by dissecting and microscopically examining the male genitalia. Generally however the underside wings of otho tend to be reddish-brown or orange-brown in colour, whereas egeremet has a more neutral brown hue.

Wallengria otho is found in the south-eastern states of the USA. It’s range overlaps with the more northern species egeremet.

Habitats

This species is found in open woodland habitats and swamps, at altitudes between sea level and about 200m.

Lifecycle

The larvae feed nocturnally on grasses including Digitaria and Paspalum.

Adult behaviour

Both sexes visit flowers for nectar. Males however are more commonly seen imbibing moisture from mud. They perch on low vegetation on forest edge habitats, using these places as vantage points from which to survey and intercept passing females.

Introduction

There are 15 Carterocephalus species. The genus is centred on China, but 3 species reach Europe including palaemon.

Older literature treats Carterocephalus as a member of the Hesperiinae, but the genus is currently placed in the Heteropterinae due to differences in the structure of the antennae, palpi and venation. There are only a few members of the Heteropterinae which occur in the northern hemisphere. In South America there are many related species in the genus Dalla – largely montane species from the Andes; and another similar genus, Metisella, occurs in the tropics of Africa.

All Carterocephalus species are dark brown with yellow or cream markings. The pattern is repeated on the underside, but in muted colours.

In Britain palaemon is known as the Chequered Skipper, but in the USA and Canada it is usually referred to as the Arctic Skipper or Arctic Skipperling. The butterfly is found across most of Europe and temperate Asia to Japan. It is the only Carterocephalus species found on North America where it occurs in northern California, southern Alaska and across most of Canada.

Habitats

This species is found in grassy glades and clearings in coniferous or deciduous temperate and sub-arctic forest, at elevations between sea level and about 1500m.

Lifecycle

The shiny white spherical eggs are laid singly on the underside of grass blades. Oviposition occurs primarily on grasses growing in dappled sunlight beneath bog myrtle bushes. They are usually laid on Molinea caerulea, but occasionally on Brachypodium, Calamagrostis or Bromus (Poaceae).

The larva makes its first meal of the eggshell. It later constructs a shelter made by rolling a blade of grass into a tube, held together with strands of silk. As it grows, it moves to other grass blades and constructs larger tubes. It feeds diurnally, eating little notches out of the grass blade above and below where it rests. Like other grass-feeding skippers, the larva is equipped with a pair of prongs at the tail end, which it uses to flick away its droppings. This helps to prevent the grass shelter from becoming fouled, and also removes evidence of the larva’s presence which might otherwise attract parasitoids or predators.

When the larva is fully grown in late September it constructs a silk tent amongst the grass blades, where it hibernates until April. The mature larva is pale green, but in autumn the colour gradually changes to pale straw, matching the surroundings. Prior to pupation in May the larva constructs yet another shelter, made from dead grasses and silk. The long thin pupa is formed within the shelter. It is pale ochreous, with dark lines along the back and sides. The pupal stage lasts about 2 weeks.

Adult behaviour

On sunny mornings males establish perches on bushes or saplings. They use these vantage points to survey passing females, and defend their territories vigorously against all passing insects. Other male Chequered Skippers are promptly ousted from the vicinity. When a female is intercepted she is chased until she settles, whereupon copulation takes place immediately. The pair remain joined for about an hour, during which time they sit with wings held erect, on low foliage.

Both sexes spend long periods basking on the terminal leaves of shoots of bog myrtle, birch, and other small trees or shrubs. Unlike Hesperiine skippers, but like the Pyrginae, they usually bask with their wings spread flat, usually with the forewings draped slightly backwards.

They nectar, with wings closed, at a wide variety of herbaceous plants including dandelion, bugle, lousewort, bluebells and orchids. Males also imbibe from wet soil at the edges of puddles.

In dull dry weather and overnight, the butterflies roost on the terminal leaves of bog myrtle bushes, or sometimes on bracken fronds or clumps of heather. In wet weather they hide deep within grass tussocks.

Introduction

There are about 100 known Erebia species, distributed variously across temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. Almost all species inhabit damp high altitude grasslands although a few occur down to sea level. Most species are dark brown and feature a series of white-centred black ocelli set within a suffused area of orange on the outer part of the wings. The markings are repeated on the underside but are more subdued. There are 14 species known from North America.

In North America the vast majority of Erebia species are restricted to Alaska or Canada, although many of them are also found in temperate Asia where the genus probably originated.

Erebia epipsodea is found in s.w. Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta, Washington, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming and Colorado.

Habitats

In common with most other Erebia species episodea is found in mountainous country, and is most often encountered as localised colonies in moist meadows and damp hollows dominated by fine grasses which thickly carpet the ground.

Lifecycle

The lifecycle is unknown. The majority of Erebia species lay their eggs singly at the base of blades of grasses or sedges. Females of epipsodea are often seen flying around Poa fendleriana and this is assumed to be the foodplant. Erebia larvae normally enter hibernation in the 2nd instar and spend the winter deep at the base of grasses, and may be buried under snow for several months. In the spring, after the snows melt, they awaken and resume feeding, becoming fully grown by early May. They feed nocturnally, high up on the grass blades, leaving nibbled notches which give away their presence. In poor spring seasons larval development may be very slow, and it is likely that some of the larvae are unable to complete their growth in a single season, and may spend 2 successive winters in hibernation. Erebia pupae are usually formed within a very flimsy cocoon at the base of grass tussocks.

Adult behaviour

Common Alpines have a very weak fluttering flight just above the grasses. Males imbibe moisture from damp ground. They patrol back and forth while the sun shines, dipping down at intervals into the grasses to investigate any dark object that could potentially be a female. Both sexes nectar at a wide variety of flowers, and occasionally bask on grass blades or on bare ground.