Hesperia uncas
Species of butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Hesperia uncas, the Uncas skipper or white-vein skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found from US Midwest to southern portions of the three Canadian Prairie provinces, north as far as Edmonton, Alberta.[2]
| Uncas skipper | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Hesperiidae |
| Genus: | Hesperia |
| Species: | H. uncas |
| Binomial name | |
| Hesperia uncas W.H. Edwards, 1863 | |
| Subspecies | |
|
4 subspecies, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The wingspan is 32–42 mm. There are two generations per year with adults on wing from May to June and again from August to September, in Canada from mid-June to late July.[2] It is found in sandy areas, open woodlands, and sagebrush.[3]
The larvae feed on Deschampsia elongata, Stipa, Bromus rubens, and Poa pratensis. Adults feed on flower nectar from various flowers, including rabbitbrush, needlegrass (Stipa nevadensis), and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis).[4]
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:[4]
- H. u. fulvapalla Austin & McGuire, 1998
- H. u. gilberti MacNeill, 1964
- H. u. giuliani Austin & McGuire, 1998
- H. u. grandiosa Austin & McGuire, 1998
- H. u. lasus (Edwards, 1884)
- H. u. macswaini MacNeill, 1964
- H. u. reeseorum Austin & McGuire, 1998
- H. u. terraclivosa Austin & McGuire, 1998
- H. u. uncas Edwards, 1863
