Pyrrhopyge araxes

Dull Firetip
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Pyrrhopyge
Species:	P. araxes
Binomial name
Pyrrhopyge araxes (Hewitson, 1867)

The Dull Firetip (Pyrrhopyge araxes, also known as the Golf-Club Skipper)^[1] is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. It is the only butterfly in the subfamily Pyrrhopyginae that occurs in the United States. They usually perch with their wings fully or partly open. Adults are very fond of flowers. Their flight is direct and quite fast, usually flying high above trees.^[2]

Description

The upper side of the wings is brown with the fore wings having several glassy white spots. The underside of the wings is brown with the body and basal area of the wings bright yellow-orange.^[2]

Habitat

The Dull Firetip lives in habitats such as southwestern oak woodlands.^[2]

Flight

Adults may be seen from August to November (they are most common in September).^[1]

Life cycle

The larvae live in a folded-over leaf nest. The yellow-banded larva is red-brown with white-hairs. The head is black with white and orange hairs. The pupa is brownish-red with maroon joints and the abdomen dull orange. It is covered with white hairs (except on the wing cases) and has orange hairs on the top of the head. The partially grown larva builds a small nest on the host plant where it will overwinter.^[1] It has 1 brood per year.^[2]

Host Plants

Here is a list of host plants that the Dull Firetip uses:

• Emory Oak, Quercus emoryi
• Toumey Oak, Quercus toumeyi
• Arizona White Oak, Quercus arizona
• Gray Oak, Quercus grisea^[1][2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} James A. Scott (1986). The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. ISBN 0-8047-2013-4
2. ^ ^{a b c d e} Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. ISBN 0-618-15312-8