Click on any image to open the slideshow
Burnsius communis (Grote, 1872)
Common Checkered Skipper
Synonym(s): Pyrgus communis
Florida native
The range of this butterfly includes most of the United States except upper New England, the northern mountains of Mexico and central and western Canada. Probably not a permenant resident north of the 40th parallel due to the inability to withstand very cold winters. In flight February though October in the deep south and March through Septermber in the north.
Host plants include several plants in the Malvaceae family.
Adults feed on the nectar of white-flowered composites including sheperd's needles, fleabane, beggar's ticks, knapweed and red clover.
Common checkered skippers are nearly identical to the paler white checkered skippers (P. albescens) both of which are found in Florida.
Burnsius communis is a member of the Hesperiidae - Skippers family.
Other species of the Burnsius genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Burnsius albescens - WHITE CHECKERED-SKIPPER
iNaturalist profile for this species
For more information on this species, visit the following link:
Bugguide.net page for this species
Date record last modified: Dec 17, 2023
