Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Hesperiidae Rank Species | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Euphyes | |
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Similar Panoquina panoquin, Euphyes, Problema byssus, Euphyes dukesi, Polites vibex | ||
Euphyes arpa, the palmetto skipper, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.
Contents
Description
The wingspan is 41–49 mm. The head and front of thorax are bright orange. The upperside of the forewings is reddish yellow with black borders in males and mostly black with a few reddish-yellow patches in females. The underside of the hindwings is bright yellow orange without markings in both males and females.
Ecology
The larvae feed on the fronds of the palm species Serenoa repens, the saw palmetto, and live in silken tubes at the frond base. The species overwinters in the larval stage.
Adults feed on flower nectar from various plants, including the pickerelweeds (genus Pontederia). Adult males perch in sedge marshes to await females.
Habitat is generally moist with low palmetto scrub, including open pine flats, and forested scrub/shrub wetlands, with a necessary abundance of saw palmetto.
Range
E. arpa is found in most of Florida, and immediately adjacent Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, possibly established resident only in Florida and Mississippi.
Brood
Adults occur in most of Florida from about March to November, apparently with several broods per year.
Conservation status
The species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List. NatureServe ranks the species with a rounded global conservation status of G3: vulnerable. The species may be extirpated in the Florida Keys.