''Chiothion asychis'', the white-patched skipper or white patch, is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

. It is found from Argentina, north through tropical America to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. Strays can be found as far north as southern

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

and

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 29–38 mm. Three to four generations occur, with adults on wing throughout the year in southern Texas. The larvae feed on '' Malpighia glabra'' in Texas and on '' Gaudichaudia pentandra'' in Mexico. Adults feed on flower nectar.

Subspecies

*''Chiothion asychis asychis'' - Surinam *''Chiothion asychis autander'' - Argentina *''Chiothion asychis georgina'' - Mexico *''Chiothion asychis grenada'' - Grenada *''Chiothion asychis pelagica'' - Mexico - Baja California Sur *''Chiothion asychis simon'' - Colombia *''Chiothion asychis vincenta'' - St. Vincent *''Chiothion asychis zania'' - Peru

External links

''Chiomara asychis georgina'' at Butterflies and Moths of North America
Erynnini Butterflies of Central America Butterflies of the Caribbean Butterflies of North America Hesperiidae of South America Taxa named by Caspar Stoll Butterflies described in 1780 {{Pyrginae-stub