Euphyes dion, the Dion skipper or Alabama skipper, is a species of butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in scattered populations along the Atlantic coast of North America, from western Massachusetts and south-eastern New York south to north-eastern Florida, west to north-eastern Texas, and north to south-eastern North Dakota, northern Wisconsin, southern Ontario and southern Quebec. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.[2]

Euphyes dion
Euphyes dion dion

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Euphyes
Species:
E. dion
Binomial name
Euphyes dion
(W.H. Edwards, 1879)
Synonyms
  • Pamphila dion W.H. Edwards, 1879
  • Euphyes macquirei Freeman, 1975
  • Limochroes dion (W.H. Edwards, 1879)
  • Atrytone dion (W.H. Edwards, 1879)

The wingspan is 37–45 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from July to early August in the north and two generations with adults on wing from May to September in the south.

The larvae feed on various sedges, including Scirpus cyperinus, Carex lacustris and Carex hyalinolepis. Adults feed on nectar from various flowers including pickerelweed, sneezeweed, buttonbush and Alsike clover, among others.[3]

Subspecies

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  • Euphyes dion dion
  • Euphyes dion alabamae (Lindsey, 1923)
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References

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  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Euphyes dion Dion Skipper". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015". State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  3. ^ "Dion Skipper Euphyes dion (W.H. Edwards, 1879) | Butterflies and Moths of North America".
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