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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 » Hesperiina » Branded Skippers (Hesperia) » Western Branded Skipper - Hodges#4020.2 (Hesperia colorado)
Photo#836736
Common or Western Branded Skipper? - Hesperia colorado
Copyright © 2013 Bob Webster

Common or Western Branded Skipper? - Hesperia colorado
Great Sand Dunes National Park, Alamosa County, Colorado, USA
September 3, 2013
Is there a good way to tell the difference (in a photo) between H. comma and H. colorado?

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Common or Western Branded Skipper? - Hesperia colorado Common or Western Branded Skipper? - Hesperia colorado
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Contributed by Bob Webster on 4 September, 2013 - 11:04pm
Last updated 11 October, 2014 - 9:56pm

Moved
Moved from Branded Skippers.
… Cliff Ivy, 11 October, 2014 - 9:56pm login or register to post comments

Locale is the primary way to determine which species.
There is considerable variation within the species and several subspecies occur. However I have noted from personal review of images from several sources that Western Branded skippers often have a greenish cast below and the head and / or thorax are a greenish to greenish gray. Whereas Common Branded skippers usually have yellow to light brown body coloration below. Several images similar to your specimen, which are also from Colorado,are listed as Common Branded in BG. Based upon locale alone these specimens should be listed as Western Branded.
Your specimen is a female Western Branded skipper.
… Cliff Ivy, 11 October, 2014 - 9:52pm login or register to post comments

 
Thanks!
Thank you very much for the information!
… Bob Webster, 11 October, 2014 - 10:37pm login or register to post comments

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