''Pyrgus ruralis'', the two-banded checkered skipper, is a species of skipper butterfly (family Hesperiidae). It is found from southern British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains of SW Alberta, with populations south to central California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, and one population of an endangered subspecies in southern California, in the mountains east of San Diego. That endangered subspecies is ssp. ''lagunae'', known by the common name

Laguna Mountains skipper ''Pyrgus ruralis lagunae'', the Laguna Mountains skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is a subspecies of ''Pyrgus ruralis''. Overview The Laguna Mountains skipper is a small, black and white checkered butterfly belonging to t ...

. 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 o ...

is 25–29 mm. There is one generation from April to July. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e feed on herbaceous plants in the rose family '' Rosaceae'', including ''

Potentilla drummondii ''Potentilla drummondii'' is a species of cinquefoil known by the common name Drummond's cinquefoil. It is native to North America from Alaska to California, where it grows in many types of moist habitat. It is perhaps better described as a spec ...

'', ''

Horkelia fusca ''Horkelia fusca'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by several common names, including pinewoods horkelia and dusky horkelia. It is native to the western United States from California to Wyoming, where it is generally fou ...

'', ''

Horkelia tenuiloba ''Horkelia tenuiloba'' is a species of flowering plant in the rose family known by the common names Santa Rosa horkelia and thin-lobed horkelia. It is endemic to California, where it is known only from the coastal hills and mountains north of the ...

'' and ''

Horkelia bolanderi ''Horkelia bolanderi'' (also known as border horkelia and Bolander's horkelia) is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is endemic to northern California where it is known from only a few occurrences in two or three countie ...

clevelandii''. Adults feed on flower nectar.

Subspecies

*''Pyrgus ruralis ruralis'' *''

Pyrgus ruralis lagunae ''Pyrgus ruralis lagunae'', the Laguna Mountains skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is a subspecies of ''Pyrgus ruralis''. Overview The Laguna Mountains skipper is a small, black and white checkered butterfly belonging to t ...

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America
Pyrgus Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1852 {{Pyrginae-stub