Gegenes pumilio pumilio

A skipper with a wingspan of 25-30 mm, the front wings are pointed, males are a darker brown and lack any markings while females have a number of white spots. This species prefers drier habitats such as coastal dunes, farmland, low scrub, sandy riversides, stony hillsides, grassy slopes, dry gullies, ravines, and semi-desert. Host plants include members of the grass family (Graminae) such as Bermuda-grass (Cynodon dactylon), hyparrhenia (Hyparrhenia hirta), and cylindrical hare’s-tail (Imperata cylindrica). It flies April through late October, the flight is fast, powerful, and close to the ground, nearly “mothlike” when perched and basking on stones or bare soil.

Photographs

  Attribution: Husein Zorkot

Attribution: Sharp Photography (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Sharp Photography (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Zeynel Cebeci (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Zeynel Cebeci (Wikipedia Creative Commons)