The Butterflies of the World Foundation

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Southern Cloudywing

Thorybes bathyllus, J. E. Smith, 1797

Subfamily Eudaminae

Taxonomy

The family Hesperiidae includes all butterflies that are collectively called skippers because of their fast skipping flight.  This family is the sole member of the Superfamily Hesperioidea.  Whereas, the other five families of butterflies belong to the Superfamily Papilionoidea.  So, skippers are considered butterflies, but they have a few traits different than the species of “True” butterflies found in the Superfamily Papilionoidea.  Some of these traits include large eyes, short antennae (often with hooked clubs) and stout bodies.  Most also have a very rapid flight with a fast, almost blurred, wing beat.  There are about 3,500 species of skippers and they’re further divided into seven subfamilies.  They occur worldwide with more found in the tropics. Most species are brown or tan, but some tropical members can be quite colorful.

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Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 1 July 2005                                                                                  Ref #:  I-307-19.3

Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 7 May 2006                                                                                  Ref #:  I-346-19.5

Thorybes bathyllus, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 16 April 2006                                                     Ref #:  I-341-1.2

Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 10 August 2009                                                                           Ref #:  I-428-17

Thorybes bathyllus, Ouachita National Forest, Beech Creek, Le Flore County, Oklahoma, 28 June 2010                                                                             Ref #:  I-444-13.2

Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 9 May 2009                                                                                  Ref #:  I-415-15.1

Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 18 April 2009                                                                             Ref #:  I-413-19.4

Thorybes bathyllus, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 17 May 2010                                                                                Ref #:  I-438-10

Thorybes bathyllus, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 19 April 2006                                                      Ref #:  I-342-20

Thorybes bathyllus, Pontotoc Ridge Preserve, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, 25 September 2010                                                                                            Ref #:  I-458-9

General Information:

Thorybes bathyllus belongs to the subfamily Eudaminae.  This species is found in the eastern half of the U.S.  Its preferred habitat includes open, scrubby places including dry meadows, burned areas, dry prairie hills, powerline right-of-ways, etc.

Lifecycle:

The larval food source includes various plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, including beggars ticks, Desmodium sp., bush clover, Lespedeza sp., clover, Trifolium sp., milkvetch, Astragalus sp., fuzzybean, Strophostyles sp., and wild bean, Glycine sp.  Males perch on vegetation 1.5 to 4.5 feet above ground, usually on hilltops or knolls.  Females lay eggs singly on the underside of a host plant leaflet.  Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in shelters of rolled or tied leaves.  Fully-grown caterpillars hibernate.

Thorybes bathyllus, ‘Red Hill,’ Purcell, McClain County, Oklahoma, 14 March 2006

                                                                                               Ref #: I-335-19.2

Two Thorybes bathyllus, with one Hoary Edge, Achalarus lyciades, and  one Dusted Skipper, Atrytonopsis hianna,  Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 7 May 2006                       Ref #:  F-47-13.17

Thorybes bathyllus, McGee Creek Wildlife Management Area, Atoka County, Oklahoma, 6 April 2012                                                                                    Ref #:  I-500-19

Thorybes bathyllus, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma, 15 June 2012

                                                                                                Ref #:  I-525-11

Thorybes bathyllus, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma, 15 June 2012

                                                                                                 Ref #:  I-525-8

Thorybes bathyllus, egg freshly deposited on Tick Trefoil, Desmodium sp., Pontotoc Ridge Preserve, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, 30 June 2012                           Ref #:  I-528-14