Texas Powdered Skipper (Systasea pulverulenta [R. Felder])
Wing span: 15/16 - 1 3/8 inches (2.4 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Outer margin of hindwing has 2 deep indentations. Upperside is orange-brown with darker olive-brown areas; forewing has a median band of transparent spots all in a row.
Life history: To seek females, males perch in gulches. Females deposit eggs singly on the host plant. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in folded-leaf nests; fully-grown caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: February-December in South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Various plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Openings in thorn forest and scrub, parks, near rivers.
Range: South and west Texas, southern Arizona and New Mexico, south through Mexico to Guatemala.
