''Megathymus streckeri'', or Strecker's giant skipper, is

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 the United States from southeastern

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

and southwestern

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 ...

south to southern

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 west to northwestern

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and southwestern

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

.Butterflies and Moths of North America
/ref> Its habitats include short grass prairies, sand hills, and rocky bluffs. 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 57–78 mm. The forewings are wide. The upperside is black, the forewing has white spots near the tip and a yellow band, while the hindwing has a white to yellow marginal band and long hairlike scales. The underside of the hindwings is gray or mottled gray and black, and has several white spots. Adults are on wing from May to July in one generation. Adults males sip moisture from mud. The larvae feed on ''

Yucca glauca ''Yucca glauca'' (syn. ''Yucca angustifolia'') is a species of perennial evergreen plant, adapted to xeric (dry)growth conditions. It is also known as small soapweed, soapweed yucca, Spanish bayonet, and Great Plains yucca. ''Yucca glauca'' fo ...

'', ''

Yucca constricta ''Yucca constricta'' known by the common name "Buckley's yucca,"Buckley. Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science Proceedings, 1862:8. 1863. is a plant in the family Asparagaceae. It is found in rocky limestone hills of central and eastern Texas, ...

'', ''

Yucca angustissima ''Yucca angustissima'', the narrowleaf yucca, is a plant in the family Agavaceae, known as the "narrow-leaved yucca." It is native to Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah, but grown elsewhere as an ornamental. ''Yucca angustissima'' is a low-ly ...

'' and ''

Yucca baileyi ''Yucca baileyi'' is a plant in the family Agavaceae. It is native to Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado but has been cultivated elsewhere. Much of its native range is within the boundaries of the Navajo (Diné) Reservation, hence the common ...

''. Young larvae burrow into the stem of the host plant toward the root. After hibernating in the burrow, the larvae surface through the stem or soil and construct a tent of silk, soil and plant debris in which pupation takes place.

References

Megathyminae Butterflies described in 1895 Butterflies of North America {{Hesperiidae-stub