Megathymus yuccae, commonly known as the Yucca Giant-Skipper, is a rare early season butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 that is widespread across the southern United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It belongs in the family Hesperiidae

Skipper (butterfly)

A skipper or skipper butterfly is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. They are named after their quick, darting flight habits. There are more than 3500 recognized species of skippers and they occur worldwide, but with the greatest diversity in the Neotropical regions of Central and South...

, subfamily Megathyminae

Giant Skippers

The Giant Skippers are butterflies in the disputed subfamily Megathyminae, which is part of the skipper family. Some authorities treat this as a distinct and separate subfamily, but more modern classifications tend to place them within the subfamily Hesperiinae. However, some works, such as the...

.

Description

The upper side of the wings are brown with the fore wings having yellow spots. The under side is mainly mottled with black and gray. The wingspan is 48–79 mm (1.9–3.1 in). Caterpillars feed on Yucca

Yucca

Yucca is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. They are native to the hot and dry parts of North...

species such as Y. filamentosa

Yucca filamentosa

Yucca filamentosa, commonly known as Adam's needle, is a medicinal plant native to eastern North America.Usually trunkless, Yucca filamentosa is a multisuckering plant with heads of 30 inch long, filamentous, blue green strappy leaves. The plant is fully hardy...

, Y. smalliana, Y. gloriosa

Yucca gloriosa

Yucca gloriosa is an evergreen shrub of the genus Yucca. Common names include Spanish Dagger, Moundlily Yucca, Soft-tipped Yucca, Spanish Bayonet or Sea Islands Yucca.- Description :...

, Y. elata, Y. arizonica, and Y. aloifolia. Although adults do not feed, males will gather moisture from mud.

Habitat

This butterfly may be seen in deserts, foothills, and woodlands where yucca plants occur.

External links

• http://www.duke.edu/~jspippen/butterflies/yuccagiantskipper.htm
• http://michaelbeohm.tripod.com/id100.html
• http://bugguide.net/node/view/177233/bgimage
• yucca giant-skipper on the UF
  University of Florida
  The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
  
   / IFAS
  Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences
  The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
  
  Featured Creatures Web site