Orange giant-skipper | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hesperiidae |
Genus: | Agathymus |
Species: | A. neumoegeni |
Binomial name | |
Agathymus neumoegeni (W. H. Edwards, 1882) | |
Agathymus neumoegeni is commonly referred to as the orange giant-skipper, Neumogen's giant-skipper, Neumogen's agave borer, Neumogen's moth-skipper, and tawny giant-skipper.
This butterfly is typified by its orange spots. The upperside of its wings are an orange to yellowish orange with black margins and black patches. The underside of the hindwings are colored a darker shade of gray and marked by a pale shaded band. Also found on the underside of the wings are two indistinct white spots along its upper boundaries. [1] However, there are small discrepancies between the female and male genders of the orange giant-skippers. The males have orange spots that form a band on both the forewing and the hindwing. The outside portion of spot seven overlies the interior edge of spot six on its forewing. In females, the orange band is thicker and the inner end of spot nine on its forewing is pointed. Both genders have a wingspan that ranges from 1.75 to 2.375 inches (44.5 to 60.3 mm). [2] The caterpillar form of the orange giant-skipper has a body that is usually a greenish or bluish white with a dark brown head [3] Different from "true butterflies", skippers rest with their forewings open at a 45-degree angle and hindwings horizontal. Skippers are grouped together in part because of their swiftly direct and vigorous flight patterns. [4] The butterfly deemed the Arizona giant-skipper ( Agathymus aryxna ) is sometimes confused with the orange giant-skipper due to their similar post median bands and coloring. However, the orange giant-skipper is typically distinguishable by its broader bands and its abundant orange coloring. [5] Also, the Arizona giant-skipper has fringes that are almost always checked white and black while the orange giant-skipper's fringes are usually no more than black.
The orange giant-skipper survives in a dry grassland or in an open woodland habitat and has been found near mesas and mountains at 2165–2790 meters. [6] They can be found in central Arizona, Texas and New Mexico more commonly between the months of May and September. [7] The skipper only takes flight once a year, during the months of September and October. [8] However, akin to the majority of giant-skippers, the orange giant-skipper adults are usually difficult to find; the caterpillars may be more easily discovered in the host plants. This bright insect can sometimes be spotted flying around agaves in Carlsbad Caverns National Park, New Mexico.
The host plant for the orange giant-skipper caterpillar is Parry's agave ( Agave parryi ). The young caterpillars eat plant pulp before hibernation. Adult males feed on moisture from mud or manure while the adult females do not feed at all.
From early morning until noon the male orange-giant skipper will sit near host plants to wait for receptive females. The female lays around 80 to 150 eggs and lives less than a week. The eggs are a pale yellow that later turn a deep red and orange and hatch within eighteen to nineteen days. They are laid individually on or nearby the host but end up falling to the base of the plant because they are not glued on. The young caterpillar crawls to the tip of the leaf and burrows inside it, eating pulp and then hibernating. In the spring it makes a new burrow in a leaf base, which is where it feeds on sap until it once again becomes inactive for the summer. Before it pupates, the caterpillar expands the opening of its burrow and makes a silk trap door which is where the adult can emerge out from. Their pupation behavior is different from most other butterflies because they pupate in a cocoon of leaves and silken threads. [9]
Papilio glaucus, the eastern tiger swallowtail, is a species of butterfly native to eastern North America. It is one of the most familiar butterflies in the eastern United States, ranging north to southern Ontario, Canada, and is common in many different habitats. It flies from spring until fall, during which it produces two to three broods. Adults feed on the nectar of many species of flowers, mostly from those of the families Apocynaceae, Asteraceae, and Fabaceae. P. glaucus has a wingspan measuring 7.9 to 14 cm. The male is yellow with four black "tiger stripes" on each forewing. Females may be either yellow or black, making them dimorphic. The yellow morph is similar to the male, but with a conspicuous band of blue spots along the hindwing, while the dark morph is almost completely black.
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Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of Aristolochia are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the Northern limit of its range.
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Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their use of passionflowers as a host plant, variegated fritillaries also have taxonomic links to the heliconians. Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word euptoietos meaning "easily scared".
Telegonus cellus, the golden banded-skipper, is a North and Central American species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. There are two populations, one in the eastern United States and the other in the southwestern United States and Mexico. The eastern population is rare and local and uses only one host plant, the thicket bean. The southwestern population is uncommon to common and uses more than one host plant. The golden banded-skipper is most active mid-morning and late afternoon. Their flight is sluggish and low to the ground, compared to closely related species.
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