''Hesperia uncas'', the Uncas skipper or white-vein skipper, is a butterfly 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 from US Midwest to southern portions of the three Canadian Prairie provinces, north as far as Edmonton, Alberta. 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.Uncas Skipper
Butterflies of Canada It is found in sandy areas, open woodlands, and sagebrush. The larvae feed on ''

Deschampsia elongata ''Deschampsia elongata'' is a species of Poaceae, grass known by the common name slender hairgrass. Distribution It is native to western North America from Alaska to Wyoming to northern Mexico, and South America in Chile. It grows at all elevati ...

'', '' Stipa'', ''

Bromus rubens ''Bromus madritensis'' is a species of brome grass known by the common name compact brome. The specific epithet ''madritensis'' refers to Madrid, Spain. It has a diploid number of 28. There are two subspecies: *''Bromus madritensis'' subsp. ''m ...

'', and '' Poa pratensis''. Adults feed on flower nectar from various flowers, including rabbitbrush, needlegrass (''

Stipa nevadensis ''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species form ...

''), and blue grama (''

Bouteloua gracilis ''Bouteloua gracilis'', the blue grama, is a long-lived, warm-season (C4 carbon fixation, C4) Perennial plant, perennial grass, native to North America. It is most commonly found from Alberta, Canada, east to Manitoba and south across the Rocky ...

'').

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:''Hesperia''
funet.fi *''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

References

External links

Uncas Skipper
Butterflies and Moths of North America Hesperia (butterfly) Butterflies described in 1863 Butterflies of North America Taxa named by William Henry Edwards {{Hesperiini-stub