Observation date: December 01, 2012
Date notes: Request for confirmation of earlier ID. Photographs were taken in November and December 2012.
Submitted by: jcampbell
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: I submitted a photograph to BAMONA that was ID'ed as a rare Piruna polingii butterfly. “The sighting details page is available here: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sighting_details/756092”
I was thrilled to hear that I may have photographed a rare butterfly, but am wondering if the ID may be incorrect. Am sending photos of 4 of these butterflies photographed in San Antonio, TX; left-most is original photo ID’ed as Piruna polingii.
-- Photos attached were taken of 4 different butterflies in San Antonio, TX, this year, so maybe butterfly isn't rare here?
From BAMONA website entry:
-- Piruna polingii is found in Central New Mexico and Arizona.
-- My photos were taken in November and December; BAMONA entry says Piruna polingii has one brood, June-August. Would this be possible?
Looking at Glassburg and Kaufman field guides to butterflies of North America:
-- Piruna polingii has striped antenna; butterflies in my photos don't. Butterflies in my photos have elongated forewings; Piruna polingii doesn't look like it does.
-- Piruna polingii has an additional spot forward of 4 spots on underside of hindwing.
Closest visual match I can find to butterflies my photos is Calpodes ethlius, although Brazilian Skippers are said to be “very large.” I wouldn't call the butterflies I photographed very large. Look forward to hearing back from BAMONA.
Status: Resident
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: June 04, 2013
Coordinator notes: On Feb 12, 2013, BAMONA verified sighting 756092 as Piruna polingii Four-spotted Skipperling, a southwest species, which would have been a rare stray for Bexar Co., TX. When this went back to the submitter, the submitter questioned that id through this new submission, 765080, submitted Feb 14, 2013. No one has looked at this until now. In this new submission, the submitter of the original photo includes 3 more photos of near-identical specimens taken a few weeks later. The submitter thinks these may be Brazilian Skippers, Calpodes ethlius, and I agree with this wholeheartedly. The original submission and the other photos are all of the Brazilian Skipper, which feeds on cannas, very common plants around San Antonio, and definitely a plant in the botanical garden where the original sighting was made. Photos of the Brazilian skipper's underside spot pattern on BAMONA will verify this id. The one photograph of Piruna polingii Four-spotted Skipperling on BAMONA (Opler's photo) shows an entirely different underside wing spot pattern, which is consistent with the diagram in Opler/Wright's 'Western Butterflies" (the Peterson Guide). coordinator S. Tomlinson 6/5/2013
