Skipper (butterfly)

Skippers
Female Essex skipper, Thymelicus lineola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
(unranked):
Rhopalocera
Superfamily:
Papilionoidea
Family:
Hesperiidae

Latreille, 1809

The skippers are a family of butterflies, the Hesperiidae. They are named after their quick, darting flight.

Skippers used to be classified in their own superfamily, Hesperioidea, because they have their antennae clubs hooked backward like a crochet while the other butterflies have club-like tips to their antennae. Skippers also have generally stockier bodies than regular butterflies, with stronger wing muscles. [1]

Subfamilies

There are about 3500 species of skippers.[2] They are usually classified in the following subfamilies:

Many species of skippers look frustratingly alike. For example, some species in the genera Erynnis, Hesperia, and Amblyscirtes cannot currently be distinguished in the field even by experts. The only reliable method of telling them apart involving dissection and examination of the genitalia.

Examples

Examples include:

References

  1. ↑ Brower, Andrew V.Z. & Warren, Andrew (April 7, 2008). "Hesperiidae" Archived 2015-09-08 at the Wayback Machine. Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  2. ↑ Ackery P.R; de Jong R. & Vane-Wright R.I. 1999. "The Butterflies: Hedyloidea, Hesperioidea and Papilionoidae". In: Kristensen N.P. (ed) Handbook of Zoology: A Natural History of the Phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Vol.1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography: 263–300. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.

Other websites

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hesperiidae.
Wikispecies has information on: Hesperiidae.