Hesperia metea

Last updated

Hesperia metea
Hesperia metea 63203982.jpg
Status TNC G4.svg
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Hesperia
Species:
H. metea
Binomial name
Hesperia metea
Scudder, 1863
Synonyms
  • Erynnis metea
  • Hesperia horusEdwards, 1871
  • Erynnis licinus
  • Lerema horus

Hesperia metea, the cobweb skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It has a scattered distribution in the United States from southern Maine west to Wisconsin, south to central Georgia, the Gulf States and central Texas.

Contents

The wingspan is 29–35 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from late March to early June.

The larvae feed on various grasses, including Schizachyrium scoparium and Andropogon gerardi . Adults feed on flower nectar from various low-growing plants, including Labrador tea, wild strawberry, blackberry, bird's-foot violet, winter cress, red clover, lilac, vervain, Carolina larkspur and wild hyacinth.

Hesperia metea museum specimen Hesperia metea Bruce.jpg
Hesperia metea museum specimen

Subspecies

References

  1. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Hesperia metea Cobweb Skipper". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 27 September 2020.