''Lerema accius'', the clouded skipper, is a

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 ...

of 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 in the United States from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

west to

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 ...

, south to

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and south through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela and Colombia. 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 32–45 mm. Adults are on wing year round in Florida and southern Texas. The larvae feed on various grasses including ''

Saccharum giganteum ''Saccharum'' is a genus of tall perennial plants of the broomsedge tribe within the grass family. The genus is widespread across tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions in Africa, Eurasia, Australia, the Americas, and assorted oceani ...

'', ''

Stenotaphrum secundatum St. Augustine grass (''Stenotaphrum secundatum''), also known as buffalo turf in Australia and buffalo grass in South Africa, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae. It is a warm-season lawn grass that is popular for cultivation in tropical ...

'', '' Erianthus alopecturoides'' and '' Echinochloa povietianum''. Adults feed on the nectar of various pink, purple, or white flowers, including shepherd's needle, selfheal, vervain, buttonbush and lantana.

Subspecies

*''Lerema accius accius'' *''Lerema accius lochius'' (Venezuela)

Photos

File:Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius) male dorsal.jpg, Image:Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius) ventral.jpg, Ventral view Image:Lerema accius1.jpg,

References

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America
Hesperiinae Hesperiidae of South America Lepidoptera of Colombia Butterflies described in 1797 Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of the United States Taxa named by James Edward Smith Lepidoptera of Mexico Lepidoptera of Venezuela {{Hesperiinae-stub