Phocides batabano

Phocides batabano, including the mangrove skipper, is a skipper in the family Hesperiidae. It is found in North America, namely in the United States from coast to coast in peninsular Florida and the Florida Keys, Cuba and adjacent regions like the Bahamas and Cayman Island.^[1] In many other works, the lineages are linked with Phocides pigmalion (Cramer, 1779), e.g. as subspecies of that per Lamas, 2004.^[2]

Phocides batabano
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Phocides
Species:	P. batabano
Binomial name
Phocides batabano Lucas, 1857
Synonyms
Eudamus batabano Lucas, 1857 Erycides mancinus Herrich-Schäffer, 1862 Erycides batabano [?] Lefèbre, 1867

The wingspan is 48–70 mm. Adults are on the wing from November to August in southern Florida. The larvae feed on Rhizophora mangle species. Adults feed on nectar of various plants, including mangrove, shepherd's needle, citrus, and bougainvillaea flowers. Strays may be found up to coastal South Carolina.

• Phocides pigmalion batabano (Cuba, Cayman)
• Phocides pigmalion batabanoides (Bahamas)
• Phocides pigmalion okeechobee (Florida)