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 large chequered skipper is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is the single member of the monotypic genus Heteropterus. The species can be found in isolated populations in Europe and east across the Palearctic to Central Asia and Korea. It is endangered in the Netherlands.
Taractrocera ceramas, commonly known as the Tamil grass dart, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found from the Western Ghats to Mumbai, in the hills of southern India, in northeast India to northern Burma and in south-eastern China.
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.
Gegenes pumilio, the pigmy skipper or dark Hottentot, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea through Anatolia to the Himalaya and south in the whole of Africa.
Coeliades pisistratus, the two-pip policeman, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae that occurs commonly in much of sub-Saharan Africa.
Willema willemi, the netted sylph, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found from South Africa (Transvaal), Botswana, and Zimbabwe to Kenya, Uganda, and Somalia. The habitat consists of savanna and densely wooded clumps of bush.
Borbo fallax, the false swift, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in tropical Africa. In South Africa it is found in Eswatini, coastal KwaZulu-Natal, northern Gauteng and the Limpopo Province and the extreme north-east of the North West Province. The habitat consists of coastal bush and moist savanna.
The Erionotini are a tribe of skipper butterflies in the subfamily Hesperiinae.
Prosopalpus debilis, the western dwarf skipper, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, western Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Ethiopia, north-western Tanzania and northern Zambia. The habitat consists of forests.
Willema angolana is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Shaba) and Zambia.
Willema carsoni is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Tanzania and north-eastern Zambia.
Willema formosa, the beautiful sylph, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Malawi, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania. The habitat consists of forest edges.
Willema kumbona is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It was described by Evans in 1937. It is found in Cameroon and Nigeria.
Teniorhinus ignita, the fiery small fox , is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Uganda, western Tanzania and northern Zambia. The habitat consists of forests and woodland.
Semalea pulvina, the silky dart, silky skipper or branded silky skipper, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, western Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, northern Zambia, Mozambique and eastern Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of forests.
Borbo fanta, the Fanta swift or twin-spot swift, is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-western Kenya, Tanzania, central and northern Zambia, Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe and northern Botswana. The habitat consists of savanna and degraded forests.
Calleagris hollandi is a butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Uganda, western Tanzania, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Shaba), northern Zambia and northern Malawi. The habitat consists of moist woodland.
Eretis lugens, commonly known as the savanna elf, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Senegal, northern Guinea, northern Sierra Leone, Liberia, northern Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and north-western Zambia. The habitat consists of Sudan savanna, open Guinea savanna, forest margins, forests and dense woodland.
Sarangesa laelius, commonly known as the grey elfin, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, northern Ivory Coast, northern and central Ghana, Togo, northern Nigeria, southern Sudan, Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, northern Zambia and Zimbabwe. The habitat consists of woodland and dry Guinea savanna.
