''Euphyes dion'', the Dion skipper or Alabama skipper, is a species of
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
of the family
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a family of the Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) named the Hesperiidae. Being diurnal, they are generally called butterflies. They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea; however, the most recent taxonomy ...
. It is found in scattered populations along the Atlantic coast of North America, from western
and south-eastern
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
south to north-eastern
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, west to north-eastern
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, and north to south-eastern
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
, northern
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, southern
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and southern
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
.
The
wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is 37–45 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from July to early August in the north and two generations with adults on wing from May to September in the south.
The larvae feed on various sedges, including ''
Scirpus cyperinus
''Scirpus cyperinus'', commonly known as woolgrass, is an emergent wetland herb that is native to the eastern United States and eastern Canada. Other common names include cottongrass bulrush[Carex lacustris
''Carex lacustris'', known as lake sedge (''lucastris'' is from the Latin ''lacus'', or lake), is a tufted grass-like perennial of the sedge family (Cyperaceae), native to southern Canada and the northern United States. ''C. lacustris'' us an h ...]
'' and ''
Carex hyalinolepis''. Adults feed on nectar from various flowers including
pickerelweed,
sneezeweed Sneezeweed is a common name for several plants in the family Asteraceae and may refer to:
*'' Achillea ptarmica'', with white flowers
*'' Hymenoxys hoopesii'', with long yellow petals, native to western North America
*Various species of ''Helenium ...
,
buttonbush and
Alsike clover, among others.
Subspecies
*''Euphyes dion dion''
*''Euphyes dion alabamae''
(Lindsey, 1923)
Gallery
Image:Euphyes_dion_alabamae_2191057.jpg, ''Euphyes dion alabamae''
References
External links
Butterflies and Moths of North America*
*
Hesperiini
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1879
Taxa named by William Henry Edwards
{{Hesperiini-stub