Heliopetes laviana

Heliopetes laviana
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Heliopetes
Species:	H. laviana
Binomial name
Heliopetes laviana (Hewitson, 1868)[1]
Synonyms
Leucochitonea laviana Hewitson, 1868 Leucochitonea pastor R. Felder, 1869 Syrichtus oceanus Edwards, 1871 Heliopetes dividua Röber, 1925 Pyrgus leca Butler, 1870

Heliopetes laviana, the Laviana white-skipper or Laviana skipper, is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. It is found from Argentina through Central America and northern Mexico to southern Texas. Strays can be found in southern Arizona and central and northern Texas. The habitat consists of edges of brushy areas, trails, roadsides, open woodland, thorn forest and streamsides.

The wingspan is 35–42 mm. The upperside of the males is white with dark markings along the outer wing margins. Females have wider markings than males and also have grey wing bases. The underside of the hindwings has an olive-grey patch on the outer third which is sharply separated from the paler median area. The dark basal area contains a pale triangular patch. There are multiple generations per year in southern Texas. Adults feed on flower nectar.

The larvae feed on the leaves of various mallows, including Sphaeralcea, Sida and Abutilon species. They live in a nest of folded leaves.^[2]

Subspecies

• Heliopetes laviana laviana (Texas, Arizona, Mexico, Nicaragua, Colombia)
• Heliopetes laviana leca (Butler, 1870) (Venezuela)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heliopetes laviana.

Wikispecies has information related to: Heliopetes laviana