Northern grizzled skipper

The northern grizzled skipper (Pyrgus centaureae) is a species of skipper butterfly (family Hesperiidae) with a range in North America from the subarctic to the north, New Mexico to the south, and the Appalachian Mountains to the east.[1]

Northern grizzled skipper
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Pyrgus
Species:
P. centaureae
Binomial name
Pyrgus centaureae
(Rambur, 1839)
Synonyms
  • Pyrgus freija Warren, 1924
  • Pyrgus fasciata (Warren, 1926)

While generally similar to most other Pyrgus species, this species has a greyer brown background colour with bold white spots on both the forewing and hindwing. Unlike most other Pyrgus species, the veins on the underside are obviously lined white. Wingspan is 25 to 33 mm.

One generation is produced per year in its southern range from March to May. Two years are required for each brood in the subarctic. Larval food plants include cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus), wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), dwarf cinquefoil (Potentilla canadensis), and varileaf cinquefoil (Potentilla diversifolia).[1]

Subspecies
  • Pyrgus centaureae centaureae
  • Pyrgus centaureae freija (Warren, 1924) (Canada)
  • Pyrgus centaureae wyandot (Edwards, 1863)
  • Pyrgus centaureae loki Evans, 1953 (Colorado)

References
  1. "Grizzled skipper Pyrgus centaureae". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  • Whalley, Paul - Mitchell Beazley Guide to Butterflies (1981, reprinted 1992) ISBN 0-85533-348-0
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.