Purple-washed Skipper (Panoquina leucas [Fabricius])
Wing span: 1 3/16 - 1 3/4 inches (3 - 4.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside is dark brown with some pale spots; male forewing has an elongated spot in the cell. Underside of hindwing is dull brown with a straight line of blue or white spots. Female has a blue or purple sheen.
Life history: Caterpillars feed on leaves.
Flight: Several broods; August-December in South Texas, throughout the year in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), rice (Oryza sativa), Johnson grass (Sorghum halepense), and other grasses.
Adult food: Flower nectar including that from Lantana.
Habitat: Openings in subtropical scrub, forest edges, and nearby fields.
Range: Argentina north through tropical America and the West Indies to northern Mexico. A regular stray north to the lower Rio Grande Valley of South Texas; rarely to central Texas and southeast Arizona.
