Hesperia colorado

Hesperia colorado, the western branded skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae.

Western branded skipper
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Hesperia
Species:	H. colorado
Binomial name
Hesperia colorado (Scudder, 1874)
Subspecies
See text
Synonyms
Erynnis comma colorado Dyar, 1903 Hesperia comma colorado

It is found from in Eurasia and north-western Africa, coast to coast in North America in boreal and subalpine areas south as far as Colorado, hence the Latin name.^[1]

The wingspan is 22–30 mm. The flight period is from late June to mid-August in western North America and from late July to early September in eastern North America.^[1]

The larvae feed on species of Muhlenbergia, Stipa, Andropogon, and Lolium.^[1][2]

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:^[2]

• H. c. colorado (Scudder, 1874)
• H. c. dodgei (Bell, 1927) – Dodge's branded skipper
• H. c. harpalus (Edwards, 1881) – Idaho branded skipper, Yosemite branded skipper
• H. c. idaho (Edwards, 1883)
• H. c. leussleri Lindsey, 1940 – Leussler's branded skipper
• H. c. mattoonorum McGuire, 1998
• H. c. mojavensis Austin & McGuire, 1998 – Mojave branded skipper
• H. c. ochracea Lindsey, 1941 – ochre branded skipper
• H. c. oregonia (Edwards, 1883) – Oregon branded skipper
• H. c. oroplata Scott, 1981
• H. c. susanae Miller, 1962 – Susan's branded skipper
• H. c. tildeni Freeman, 1956 – Tilden's branded skipper

References

1. Common Branded Skipper, Butterflies of Canada
2. Hesperia, funet.fi

External links

• Western Branded Skipper, Butterflies and Moths of North America