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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Skippers (Hesperiidae) » Grass Skippers (Hesperiinae) » Hesperiini » Polites » Whirlabout - Hodges#4045 (Polites vibex)

Species Polites vibex - Whirlabout - Hodges#4045

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Whirlabout - Polites vibex - male Whirlabout - Polites vibex - female skipper (yellow spots on hind wings) - Polites vibex skipper - Polites vibex Whirlabout - Polites vibex - male Whirlabout - Polites vibex - male whirlabout ? - Polites vibex whirlabout male? - Polites vibex - male
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 Hesperiinae (Grass Skippers)
Tribe Hesperiini
Genus Polites
Species vibex (Whirlabout - Hodges#4045)
Hodges Number
4045
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Polites vibex (Geyer)
Orig. Comb: Thymelicus Vibex Geyer, 1832
Explanation of Names
vibex (L). 'a whip mark' (1)
Whirlabouts named for their fast circular flight pattern.
Size
25-29 mm wingspan
Identification
Adult: dorsal - male bright yellowish-orange on both wings; forewing with large black stigma and dark patch near tip. Female dark brown with unmarked hindwing and several pale orange or yellow spots on forewing.
Adult: ventral - male orangish-yellow with dark apical patch on forewing, and usually three or four large blackish smudges on hindwing. Female variably drab color with light color bands.
Range
coastal se US plains (TX-FL-NC) / Mex / W. Indies - Map (MPG)
Habitat
Sunny scrubby or open areas, including dunes, fields, pinewoods, roadsides, forest openings, yards, and parks.
Season
Adults fly all year in Florida and southern Texas; April to September farther north
Food
larvae feed on grasses, including Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), St. Augustine Grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and Thin Paspalum (Paspalum setaceum)
Life Cycle
Two generations per year in northern part of range; more than two in the far south.
See Also
Similar to Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phileus), but forewing orange is smooth rather than the jagged edging of Fiery.
Also compare Sachem (Atalopedes campestris.
Print References
(2) (3) (4)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - MPG
Butterflies of America - BOA
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.Butterflies of the East Coast : An Observer's Guide
Rick Cech, Guy Tudor. 2005. Princeton University Press.
3.Butterflies of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides)
Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman. 2003. Houghton Mifflin Co.
4.Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East
Jeffrey Glassberg. 1999. Oxford University Press.
Contributed by Alan Chin Lee on 30 August, 2004 - 9:23pm
Additional contributions by Robin McLeod, tom murray, Mike Quinn, David Ferguson, Abigail Parker
Last updated 5 November, 2016 - 2:59pm

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