thumb|Western blue policeman ([[Pyrrhiades lucagus)]]

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 Papilionoidea (the butterflies). More than 3500 species of skippers are recognized, and they occur worldwide, but with the greatest diversity in the Neotropical regions of Central and South America.

Description and systematics

Traditionally, the Hesperiidae were placed in a monotypic superfamily Hesperioidea, because they are morphologically distinct from other Rhopalocera (butterflies), which mostly belong to the typical butterfly superfamily Papilionoidea. The third and rather small butterfly superfamily is the moth-butterflies (Hedyloidea), which are restricted to the Neotropics, but recent phylogenetic analyses suggest the traditional Papilionoidea are paraphyletic, thus the subfamilies should be reorganized to reflect true cladistic relationships.

thumb|Grass skipper butterfly ([[Atalopedes campestris)]]

Collectively, these three groups of butterflies share many characteristics, especially in the egg, larval, and pupal stages.

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The roughly 3500 species of skippers are classified in these subfamilies:

  • Barcinae
  • Katreinae tribes:
  1. Celaenorrhinini
  2. Netrocorynini
  3. Netrocoryne
  4. Tagiadini

References

  • Ackery, P. R.; de Jong, R. & Vane-Wright, R. I. (1999). "The Butterflies: Hedyloidea, Hesperioidea and Papilionoidae". In: Kristensen, N. P. (ed.): Handbook of Zoology: A Natural History of the Phyla of the Animal Kingdom. Volume IV Arthropoda: Insecta, Part 35: Lepidoptera, Moths and Butterflies Vol.1: Evolution, Systematics, and Biogeography: 263–300. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin, New York.
  • Brower, Andrew V. Z. & Warren, Andrew (April 7, 2008). "Hesperiidae". Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved December 24, 2009.
  • Brower, Andrew V. Z. & Warren, Andrew (2006). "The higher classification of the Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea)". Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  • Evans, W. H. (1951). "A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae indicating the classification and nomenclature adopted in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Pyrrhophyginae". London, British Museum. 92 pp. + p15. 1–9.
  • Evans, W. H. (1952). "A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae indicating the classification and nomenclature adopted in the British Museum (Natural History). Part II. Pyrginae. Section I". London, British Museum. 178 pp. + pls. 10–25.
  • Evans, W. H. (1953). "A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae indicating the classification and nomenclature adopted in the British Museum (Natural History). Part III. Pyrginae. Section II". London, British Museum. 246 pp. + pls. 26–53.
  • Evans, W. H. (1955). "A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae indicating the classification and nomenclature adopted in the British Museum (Natural History). Part IV. Hesperiinae and Megathyminae". London, British Museum. 499 pp. + pls. 54–88.
  • Heikkilä, M.; Kaila, L.; Mutanen, M.; Peña, C. & Wahlberg, N. (2012). "Cretaceous origin and repeated tertiary diversification of the redefined butterflies". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 279(1731), 1093–1099.
  • Kawahara, A. Y., & Breinholt, J. W. (2014). "Phylogenomics provides strong evidence for relationships of butterflies and moths". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 281 (1788), 20140970.
  • Korolev, Vladimir A. (2014). "Catalogus on the collection of Lepidoptera. Part I. Hesperiidae". Moscow, 310 p.

Further reading

  • Glassberg, Jeffrey Butterflies through Binoculars, The West (2001)
  • Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. Butterflies of British Columbia (2001)
  • James, David G. and Nunnallee, David Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies (2011)
  • Pelham, Jonathan Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada (2008)
  • Pyle, Robert Michael The Butterflies of Cascadia (2002)
  • Nearctica North America (Index page)
  • Skippers of North America: Large format diagnostic photographs Cirrus Digital Imaging
  • Internet Archive Free download of Watson, E.Y. 1891 Hesperiidae Indicae: Being a reprint of descriptions of the Hesperiidae of India, Burma, and Ceylon