Burnsius oileus explained

Burnsius oileus, the tropical checkered skipper, is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is found in the United States (Peninsular Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas), south through the West Indies, Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica.[1] It was transferred to genus Burnsius in 2019, and was previously known as Pyrgus oileus.[2]

The wingspan is 32–38 mm. There are four to five generations throughout the year in southern Texas and Florida.

The larvae feed on several plants in the family Malvaceae, including Sida rhombifolia, Malva, Althaea rosea, Abutilon and Malvastrum. Adults feed on the nectar of the flowers of Sidas species and small-flowered composites such as shepherd's needles.

Subspecies

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Pyrgus oileus (Linnaeus, 1767) . Butterflies of America . 29 March 2021.
  2. Li . Wenlin . Cong . Qian . Shen . Jinhui . Zhang . Jing . Hallwachs . Winnie . Janzen . Daniel H. . Grishin . Nick V. . Genomes of skipper butterflies reveal extensive convergence of wing patterns . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . 26 March 2019 . 116 . 13 . 10.1073/pnas.1821304116 . 30877254 . 6442542 . 2019PNAS..116.6232L . Supporting Information: Appendix p.46. free .