White-patched Skipper (Chiomara asychis [Stoll])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (2.9 - 3.8 cm).
Identification: Upperside is brown-black with irregular chalky white patches. Underside is white with brown at the outer and costal margins.
Life history: Females deposit eggs singly on leaves of the host plants, which the caterpillars eat. Caterpillars rest in leaf shelters.
Flight: Three to four broods throughout the year in South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Barbados cherry (Malpighia glabra) in Texas and Gaudichaudia pentandra in Mexico; both in the Malpighia family.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Small clearings and edges in tropical woods, city flower gardens, roadsides, fencerows, streamsides.
Range: Argentina north through tropical America to the West Indies and South Texas. Strays north to southern Arizona, Nevada, and Kansas.
