Whirlabout (Polites vibex [Geyer])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.9 cm).
Identification: Males and females are very different. Male: Upperside is yellow-orange; forewing has a black stigma and neighboring black square patch; black margins of hindwing are smooth inwardly. Underside is yellow-orange; hindwing has a few large blurred black spots. Female: Upperside is dark brown; forewing has a few clear spots. Underside is gray or sooty yellow with a central pale patch outlined with dark scales.
Life history: Adult flight is quick and darting. Females are usually found in forest openings or edges; males perch to await females during the afternoon. Caterpillars live in a tube of silked-together leaves and feed mostly at night.
Flight: Two broods from April-September in the north; all year in Florida and South Texas.
Caterpillar hosts: Grasses including Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon), St. Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), and thin paspalum (Paspalum setaceum).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including shepherd's needle and lantana.
Habitat: Scrubby or open habitats including dunes, fields, pinewoods, roadsides, forest openings, yards, and parks.
Range: Southeastern United States and the West Indies south through eastern Mexico and central America to Argentina. Periodically strays north to northeast Iowa, northern Ohio, and Connecticut.
