White Checkered-Skipper
Burnsius albescens Plötz, 1884
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Paler than Pyrgus communis. Male often has complete black checks in wing fringes. Upperside of male is blue-gray; female is black. Both sexes have large white spots which form median bands across both wings. Male has a costal fold enclosing scent scales on the upperside of the forewing. Underside is dull white with dark gray bands. Positive identification can be made only by dissection and scrutiny of the male genitalia.
Wing Span: 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.8 cm).
Life History: Similar to that of Common Checkered-skipper.
Flight: All year in South Texas, most of the year elsewhere.
Caterpillar Hosts: Not reliably reported. Probably several plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae) including globemallows (Sphaeralcea), velvet-leaf (Abutilon), and poppy mallow (Callirhoe).
Adult Food: Nectar from a variety of plants.
Habitat: Open, sunny places with low vegetation and some bare soil including prairies, fields, roadsides, yards, gardens, and low deserts.
Range: Low altitudes in southern California, southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, west and South Texas; Florida, and Mexico. A rare stray to southwest Utah, and central Texas.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Taxonomy Notes: Formerly in the genus Pyrgus.
Alternate Scientific Names:
Pyrgus albescens
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 512 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 14, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 06, 2022
Submitted by: radek_smolec
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 21, 2022
Observation date: Aug 15, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 17, 2022
Observation date: Jul 21, 1985
Submitted by: James Steen
Region: Tulare County, California, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 04, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 06, 2022
Observation date: Aug 01, 2022
Submitted by: karlkrause
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
Observation date: Dec 06, 2016
Submitted by: bobscafe
Region: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Jul 30, 2022
Observation date: Jul 17, 2022
Submitted by: camflies
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 17, 2022
Observation date: Jul 14, 2022
Submitted by: Jonathan Coffin
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 15, 2022
Observation date: Jul 13, 2022
Submitted by: Winston22
Region: Leon County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 15, 2022
Observation date: Jul 14, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 15, 2022
Observation date: Jun 13, 2022
Submitted by: Brian Ahern
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 14, 2022
Observation date: Jun 13, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 14, 2022
Observation date: Jun 02, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 03, 2022
Observation date: May 30, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 31, 2022
Observation date: May 26, 2022
Submitted by: Lani57
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 27, 2022
Observation date: May 09, 2022
Submitted by: Brian Ahern
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 09, 2022
Observation date: May 08, 2022
Submitted by: camflies
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 08, 2022
Observation date: Apr 27, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Apr 28, 2022
Observation date: Mar 11, 2022
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 14, 2022
Observation date: Feb 25, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 26, 2022
Observation date: Feb 15, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 15, 2022
Observation date: Dec 11, 2021
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 12, 2021
Observation date: Nov 27, 2021
Submitted by: Seth Mueller
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 27, 2021
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