Common or White checkered skipper (Pyrgus communis/albescens) - Pyrgus

Moved

Moved from Common/White Checkered-Skipper.

… Charley Eiseman, 24 November, 2009 - 2:52am

Moved

Moved from Pyrgus.

… Tony-2, 2 December, 2006 - 4:11pm

Not ID-able without dissection

Guys,

Several years back John Calhoun in northern FL did a paper on White Checkered Skippers in northern FL and southern GA. For years he caught and examined male specimens (female White and Common can not be told apart). Common and White Checkered Skipper males can only be told by extending thier penises and verifying the species under a lenses. Thus he found that ALL males captured in his area for 10 years (I think)were White Checkered Skippers, since then even in Charleston, SC whites have been found. So it appears White Checkered Skippers are replacing the Commons in the eastern US. What you have in AZ remains unclear at this point. I'd label the photo Common/White Checkered Skipper or Pyrgus communis/alba

… Randy Emmitt, 1 December, 2006 - 6:18pm

Two-banded Checkered Skipper?

I looked at some CA desert references and find your image closest to Pyrgus ruralis. A couple of photos are on bugguide, and you may want to look at the information on the page for P. ruralis at Nearctica.
I hope this gets you a bit further.
By the way, if you know the date this photo was taken, there's a line for this on the submission form.

… Hartmut Wisch, 1 December, 2006 - 1:38pm

2-banded

I thought the two banded occurred in cooler meadowy type areas? I was in very dry Sonoran desertscrub. The page you listed doesn't show them in AZ on the map, but it does mention them as occurring here.

… Patrick Dockens, 1 December, 2006 - 2:02pm

Hmm-

Nearctica does list Arizona as part of the range. Concerning elevation, they write "from sea level to 10,000 feet"; that's quite an elevation range.
However, the more I look at similar species, the more I get confused. Hopefully, someone with more experience will help.

… Hartmut Wisch, 1 December, 2006 - 2:24pm