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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Skippers (Hesperiidae) » Spread-wing Skippers (Pyrginae) » Pyrgini » New World Checkered-Skippers (Burnsius) » Tropical Checkered-Skipper - Hodges#3968 (Burnsius oileus)

Species Burnsius oileus - Tropical Checkered-Skipper - Hodges#3968

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Remarks · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Tropical Checkered Skipper - Burnsius oileus - male Skipper? - Burnsius oileus Skipper? - Burnsius oileus butterfly or moth? - Burnsius oileus Tropical Checkered Skipper - Burnsius oileus Tropical or Common Checkered-skipper, and how can you tell? (Alabama) - Burnsius oileus Tropical Checkered-Skipper - Burnsius oileus Tropical Checkered Skipper - Burnsius oileus
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Hesperiidae (Skippers)
Subfamily Pyrginae (Spread-wing Skippers)
Tribe Pyrgini
Genus Burnsius (New World Checkered-Skippers)
Species oileus (Tropical Checkered-Skipper - Hodges#3968)
Hodges Number
3968
Other Common Names
Cuadriculada de Plutón
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Burnsius oileus (Linnaeus, 1767); synonyms:
Pyrgus oileus
Size
Wingspan 3.2-3.8cm (1¼-1½in)
Identification
Above, "white spot just beyond cell-end white bar present and enlarged" and the forewing dark towards the apex (not checkered all the way to the tip) distinguishes this from Common/White Checkered Skippers where they overlap. (1)



Below, checkered pattern on wings is blurred.

Male forewing has a mat of long blue-gray hairs; hindwing of both sexes has marginal and submarginal bands made up of equal-sized spots. Underside of hindwing is pale, often with a strong brown overlay; not much contrast between bands and ground color. (Nearctica.com)
Range
Southern, mostly coastal plain of southeastern states and west to southern Arizona, southward to Argentina.
Habitat
Open and disturbed areas such as pastures, brushy fields, wooded trails, thorn-scrub, and roadsides (1)(2)
Season
Yearlong in South Florida, Spring/Summer in the Northern part of its range (1)
Food
Larva feed on plants of the Mallow family (1), including axocatzin (Sida rhombifolia), mallow (Malva), hollyhock (Althaea rosea), velvet-leaf (Abutilon), and malva loca (Malvastrum) (2)
Adults nectar at Sidas and small flowered composites such as Shepherd's needles (2)
Remarks
Discussion of taxonomy changes to Pyrgini on BugGuide: https://bugguide.net/node/view/2192845
See Also
Common Checkered-Skipper
White Checkered-Skipper

These two species are distinguished by the fringe checkered all the way to the wing apex. (3)
Print References
Photo and range information in Arnett (4)
Great diagnostic info in Glassberg (1)
Internet References
Photos of pinned specimens at Dallas Butterflies
Images from NABA
Species account from Nearctica.com
Works Cited
1.Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East
Jeffrey Glassberg. 1999. Oxford University Press.
2.USGS Butterflies of North America - Tropical Checkered-Skipper (Pyrgus oileus)
3.Butterflies of Florida Field Guide (Our Nature Field Guides)
Jaret C. Daniels. 2003. Adventure Publications.
4.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 13 July, 2004 - 9:23am
Additional contributions by cotinis, Hannah Nendick-Mason, Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, Jason D. Roberts, Nick Block, David Ferguson
Last updated 6 November, 2022 - 10:15am

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