'' Phocides batabano'', including the mangrove skipper, is a skipper 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 in North America, namely in the United States from coast to coast in peninsular

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 the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

, Cuba and adjacent regions like the Bahamas and Cayman Island. In many other works, the lineages are linked with ''Phocides pigmalion'' (Cramer, 1779), ''e.g.'' as subspecies of that per Lamas, 2004. 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 48–70 mm. Adults are on the wing from November to August in southern Florida. The larvae feed on ''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', also known as the red mangrove, is a salt-tolerant, small-to-medium sized evergreen tree restricted to coastal, estuarine ecosystems along the southern portions of North America, the Caribbean as well as Central America ...

'' species. Adults feed on

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

of various plants, including

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

, shepherd's needle,

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

, and bougainvillaea flowers. Strays may be found up to coastal

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

. * ''Phocides pigmalion batabano'' (Cuba, Cayman) * ''Phocides pigmalion batabanoides'' (Bahamas) * ''Phocides pigmalion okeechobee'' (Florida)

References

External links

Specimens

Mangrove Skipper - Florida Wildflower Foundation
Eudaminae Butterflies of Cuba Taxa named by Hippolyte Lucas Fauna of Cuba {{Hesperiidae-stub