Laviana White-Skipper (Heliopetes laviana [Hewitson])
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 1 5/8 inches (3.5 - 4.2 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male is white with dark markings at outer wing margins; female has wider markings than male and gray wing bases. Underside of hindwing has an olive-gray patch on the outer third which is sharply separated from the paler median area. Dark basal area contains a pale triangular patch.
Life history: Caterpillars live in a nest of folded leaves and feed on leaves.
Flight: Many broods throughout the year in South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Various mallows including globemallows (Sphaeralcea), Sidas (Sida), and velvet-leaf (Abutilon).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Edges of brushy areas, trails, roadsides, open woodland, thorn forest, streamsides.
Range: Argentina north through Central America and northern Mexico to South Texas. Regularly strays to southern Arizona and central Texas, rarely to north Texas.
