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Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 27 October 2005                                                                                 Ref #:  I-334-2

Eufala Skipper

Lerodea eufala, W. H. Edwards, 1869

Subfamily Hesperiinae

Tribe Moncini

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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Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 17 October 2006                                                                             Ref #:  I-361-20.2

Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 27 September 2005                                                                         Ref #:  I-325-18.2

Lerodea eufala, Frontera Audubon, Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, 30 October 2010

                                                                                                Ref #:  I-473-20

Lerodea eufala, Frontera Audubon, Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, 30 October 2010

                                                                                               Ref #:  I-474-3.3

General Information:

Lerodea eufala belongs to the subfamily Hesperiinae.  This species has a huge range and is found from coastal Georgia south through Florida and west across the southern United States to southern California and then south through Mexico and Central America to Patagonia.  It expands its range northward in the summer to central California, North Dakota, southern Wisconsin, northern Michigan, and Washington, D. C.  It can be found in most open, sunny areas such as vacant lots, agricultural areas, road edges, golf courses and lawns.

Lifecycle:

The larval food source includes various grasses such as Johnson grass, Sorghum halepense, Bermuda grass, Cynodon dactylon, and sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum.  Males perch in flat grassy areas on low vegetation to wait for receptive females.  Eggs are laid singly on or near the host plants.  Caterpillars eat leaves and make shelters of rolled or tied leaves.

Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2005    

                                                      Ref #:  I-319-18.1

Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2005                                                                        Ref #:  I-319-12.2

Lerodea eufala, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2005                                                                         Ref #:  I-319-17.4

Lerodea eufala, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma, 15 June 2012

                                                                                                Ref #:  I-525-12

Lerodea eufala, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                            Ref #:  I-529-19.2