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.
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.
Pyrginae, commonly known as spread-winged skippers, are a subfamily of the skipper butterfly family (Hesperiidae). The subfamily was established by Hermann Burmeister in 1878. Their delimitation and internal systematics has changed considerably in recent years with the most recent review being in 2019.
Coeliadinae is a subfamily of the skipper butterfly family (Hesperiidae). With about 150 described species, this is one of several smallish skipper butterfly subfamilies. It was first proposed by William Frederick Evans in 1937.
The Hesperiini or branded grass skippers are a tribe in the Hesperiinae subfamily of skipper butterflies. They are known as branded grass skippers because all the males in this tribe feature a black diagonal brand of scales on their forewings that exude pheromones to attract females.
The Ancistroidini are a tribe in the Hesperiinae subfamily of skipper butterflies. They are often blackish in base color; several of the genera contain the species commonly called "demon butterflies" or "demon skippers". As most Hesperiinae have not yet been assigned to tribes, more genera are likely to be placed into this presently rather small group eventually.
The Eudaminae are a subfamily of skipper butterflies. Their original type genus Eudamus is today a junior synonym of Urbanus. They are largely found in the Neotropics, with some extending into temperate North America, and one genus, Lobocla, endemic to East Asia.
The Pyrgini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. Formerly, when only four tribes of Pyrginae were recognized, the Pyrgini contained the largest number of genera among these. But this overly wide delimitation has since turned out to be paraphyletic.
The Tagiadini are a tribe of skipper butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. Many of its genera were of uncertain relationships for long, and delimitation of the Tagiadini versus the Celaenorrhinini was quite disputed at times. The species of this tribe are found in mostly tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australia.
The Celaenorrhinini are a tribe of spread-winged skippers in the skipper butterfly subfamily Tagiadinae.
Euschemon is a genus of skipper butterflies in the family Hesperiidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Euschemon rafflesia, commonly known as the regent skipper and is found in Australia.
Apyrrothrix araxes, also known as the dull firetip and the golf-club skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is the only butterfly in the subfamily Pyrrhopyginae that occurs in the United States. They usually perch with their wings fully or partly open. Adults are very fond of flowers. Their flight is direct and quite fast, usually flying high above trees.
The giant skippers (Megathymini) are a tribe of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae.
Ardaris is a Neotropical genus of firetips in the family Hesperiidae. It includes two endemic species that are restricted to mountain forests and páramos in the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela.
Pamphilites is an extinct genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae. It contains only one fossil species, Pamphilites abdita, recovered from the Tertiary of Aix-en-Provence, France.
Punta punta is a species of skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Punta.
The Carcharodini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. They are a very diverse but quite plesiomorphic and inconspicuous group distributed throughout the tropics.
Zopyrion is a genus of butterflies in the Hesperiidae (skipper) family and the Pyrgini tribe. The type species, Zopyrion sandace, was described in 1896 by Frederick DuCane Godman and Osbert Salvin in their Biologia Centrali-Americana.
Burnsius is a genus of New World checkered-skippers in the butterfly family Hesperiidae. The genus was erected by Nick V. Grishin in 2019.
Chirgus is a genus of checkered-skippers, white-skippers, and allies in the butterfly family Hesperiidae, found in the New World. The genus was erected by Nick V. Grishin in 2019. There are about six described species in Chirgus.
