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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Skippers (Hesperiidae) » Dicot Skippers (Eudaminae) » Phocides » Guava Skipper - Hodges#3866 (Phocides polybius)

Species Phocides polybius - Guava Skipper - Hodges#3866

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited

Guava skipper Caterpillar - Phocides polybius

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 Eudaminae (Dicot Skippers)

Genus Phocides

Species polybius (Guava Skipper - Hodges#3866)

Hodges Number

3866

Other Common Names

'blood-spot skipper' (Neck 1978)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Phocides polybius (Fabricius)

Syn: Phocides lilea sanguinea (Scudder)(1)

Identification

Unmistakeable; very dark with a golden head, metallic blue streaks on the body and iridescence on the wings, a pair of red spots midway on the leading edge of each forewing.

Range

s. TX to Argentina - Map (MPG, BOA)

Habitat

Subtropical woodlands; in the US, mainly in developed areas

Season

all year, but less common during summer (MPG)

Food

Caterpillars feed on leaves of Guava - Psidium spp. (Myrtaceae)

Life Cycle

Photo Essay - Mike Quinn, 2003

Caterpillars use silk to stick leaves together and form shelters; feed mostly at night.

Remarks

Has become more common in the US due to use of Guava species in ornamental landscaping.

Print References

Lipes, J.E., 1962. More butterfly records from Brownsville, Texas, including a foodplant of Phocides polybius (Hesperiidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 15: 114.

Neck, R.W. 1978. Bionomic notes on the blood-spot skipper (Hesperiidae: Phocides lilea sanguinea (Scudder)). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 32: 107-110.

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group - MPG

Butterflies of America - BOA

Butterflies and Moths of North America - BAMONA

Works Cited

1.	A systematic revision of some of the American butterflies, with brief notes on those known to occur in Essex Co., Massachusetts. Scudder, S.H. 1872. Peabody Academy of Science 4: 24-83.

Contributed by tom murray on 15 August, 2005 - 8:28pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Joshua Stuart Rose, Mike Quinn
Last updated 28 December, 2017 - 3:12pm

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