Burnsius oileus

Burnsius oileus, the tropical checkered skipper, is a species of skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is found in the United States (Peninsular Florida, the Gulf Coast, and southern Texas), south through the West Indies, Mexico and Central America to Costa Rica.^[2] It was transferred to genus Burnsius in 2019, and was previously known as Pyrgus oileus.^[3]

Tropical checkered skipper
male, Guatemala
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Burnsius
Species:	B. oileus
Binomial name
Burnsius oileus (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
List Papilio oileus Linnaeus, 1767 Pyrgus montivagus Reakirt, 1866 Pyrgus adjutrix Plötz, 1884 Hesperia syrichtus var. fumosa Reverdin, 1919 Pyrgus oileus (Linnaeus, 1767) Pyrgus oilus Hübner, [1819] (missp.) Pyrgus oieus Ménétries, 1855 (missp.) Hesperia montivagus Dyar, 1903 Pyrgus fumata Reverdin, 1921 (missp.) Pyrgus montivago Randolph, 1922 (missp.) Pyrgus oilius Kendall & Freeman, 1963 (missp.) Pyrgus ajutrix Miller & Brown, 1983 (missp.) Hesperia montivaga Godman & Salvin, [1899] Pyrgus syrichthus Butler, 1870 (missp.) Pyrgus syrechtus Druce, 1876 (missp.) Pyrgus syricthus Gundlach, 1881 (missp.) Hesperia syrichtus Dyar, 1903 Pyrgus syrithtus Woodworth, 1913 (missp.) Pyrgus sysichtus Giacomelli, 1923 (missp.) Pyrgus syrictus Williams & Bell, 1930 (missp.) Pyrgus syrichtos Cardoso, 1949 (missp.) Pyrgus syrichtus

The wingspan is 32–38 mm. There are four to five generations throughout the year in southern Texas and Florida.

The larvae feed on several plants in the family Malvaceae, including Sida rhombifolia, Malva, Althaea rosea, Abutilon and Malvastrum. Adults feed on the nectar of the flowers of Sidas species and small-flowered composites such as shepherd's needles.

Subspecies

• Burnsius oileus oileus
• Burnsius oileus syrichtus