Dorantes Longtail (Urbanus dorantes [Stoll])
Wing span: 1 7/16 - 2 inches (3.7 - 5.1 cm).
Identification: Tails are long; fringes checkered. Body and wings are brown with no green iridescence. Forewing has prominent clear spots. Underside of hindwing has 2 bands of pale spots.
Life history: The Dorantes Longtail Skipper feeds at flowers in the winter, but spends most of the time perching upside down under leaves.
Flight: Three to four broods throughout the year in south Florida and South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Various legumes including wild and cultivated beans (Phaseolus), beggar's ticks (Desmodium), and blue peas (Clitoria).
Adult food: Flower nectar from shepherd's needle, lantana, trilisa, ironweed, bougainvillea, and others.
Habitat: Roadsides, overgrown fields, edges of woods, clearings and along trails in hardwood hammocks.
Range: Argentina north through Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies to South Texas and peninsular Florida. Strays north to northern California, southern Arizona, southern Missouri, and southern Georgia.
