Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy places the family in the superfamily Papilionoidea, the butterflies. They are named for their quick, darting flight habits. Most have their antenna tips modified into narrow, hook-like projections. Moreover, skippers mostly have an absence of wing-coupling structure available in most moths. More than 3500 species of skippers are recognized, and they occur worldwide, but with the greatest diversity in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America.
The superfamily Papilionoidea contains all the butterflies except for the moth-like Hedyloidea.
Grass skippers or banded skippers are butterflies of the subfamily Hesperiinae, part of the skipper family, Hesperiidae. The subfamily was established by Pierre André Latreille in 1809.
Brigadier William Harry Evans was a lepidopterist and British Army officer who served in India. He documented the butterfly fauna of India, Burma and Ceylon in a series of articles in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Brigadier Evans was especially interested in the taxonomy and systematics of the butterfly families Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae an example being his A revision of the Arhopala group of Oriental Lycaenidae Bull. British Mus. , Ent., vol. 5: pp. 85–141 (1957).
Arnetta mercara, the Coorg forest hopper or Coorg forest bob, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Kerala and Karnataka.
Gegenes nostrodamus, commonly known as the dingy swift, light pygmy skipper, Mediterranean skipper or veloz de las rieras, is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found from the Mediterranean Sea, through Anatolia to Turkestan and India.
The Astictopterini are a tribe in the Hesperiinae subfamily of skipper butterflies. As most Hesperiinae have not yet been assigned to tribes, more genera may be placed here eventually.
Apaustus is a genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae.
Astictopterus is a genus of grass skippers in the family Hesperiidae. There are two species groups, one Afrotropical, the other Indomalayan.
Metisella is a genus of skippers, commonly called sylphs, in the family Hesperiidae found in Africa. For other sylphs see genera Astictopterus, Willema, and Tsitana.
Astictopterus inornatus, the modest sylph, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in South Africa in Afromontane forests from the East Cape, east along the Drakensberg foothills to the KwaZulu-Natal midlands and the coastal forests and rivers.
Isoteinon abjecta, the abject hopper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Mayoumbe) and Zambia. The habitat consists of forests and humid Guinea savanna.
Astictopterus anomoeus, the yellow hopper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana and Togo. The habitat consists of wetter forests, with a broken canopy, allowing the development of grassy areas.
Astictopterus bruno is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Tanzania.
Dotta stellata, the spangled sylph or spangled skipper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of forests.
Astictopterus jama, the forest hopper or coon, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Southeast Asia.
The Erionotini are a tribe of skipper butterflies in the subfamily Hesperiinae.
