Phocides polybius

Phocides polybius, the bloody spot or guava skipper, is a species of butterfly in the skipper family, Hesperiidae, that is native to the Americas. It is found from the lower Rio Grande Valley of southern Texas in the United States south through Mexico and Central America to Argentina. The species was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793.

Phocides polybius
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Phocides
Species:	P. polybius
Binomial name
Phocides polybius (Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms
List Hesperia polybius Fabricius, 1793 Papilio palemon Cramer, [1777] Phocides cruentus Hübner, [1819] Phocides palaemonides Röber, 1925 Erycides palemon Phocides palemon Erycides lilea Reakirt, [1867] Erycides albicilla Herrich-Schäffer, 1869 Dysenius cruentus Scudder, 1872 (preocc. Hübner, [1819]) Erycides sanguinea Scudder, 1872 Erycides socius Butler & H. Druce, 1872 Erycides imbreus Plötz, 1879 Erycides decolor Mabille, 1880 Erycides spurius Mabille, 1880 Phocides albiciliata Röber, 1925

The wingspan is 42–63 mm (1.7–2.5 in). There are several generations with adults on wing in February, April, and June to December in southern Texas.^[1]

The larvae feed on Psidium species, including Psidium guajava and Psidium cattleianum. Adults probably feed on flower nectar.^[1]

Subspecies

• Phocides polybius polybius (Suriname, Guyana)
• Phocides polybius lilea (Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas, Mexico to Colombia, Brazil)
• Phocides polybius phanias (Argentina, Brazil)