Panoquina cf. ocola ocola - Ocola Skipper / Long-Winged Skipper (W.H. Edwards, 1863)

Lepidoptera: Bombycina: Papilionoidea (nowadays) / Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae: Calpodini

This can be either a Panoquina ocola ocola or a Panoquina lucas (Fabricius, 1793). The text is destined to both as I can't seem to differentiate them. Wingspan, distribution and morphology information are only offered for Panoquina ocola ocola as I believe this is the correct one, but may eventually be given to Panoquina lucas as well if somebody can guarantee me the identification with 100% certainty.

Panoquina ocola ocola is a butterfly in the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Papilionoidea (nowadays) / Hesperioidea, family Hesperiidae, subfamily Hesperiinae and, according to Bug Guide, tribe Calpodini. There are two subspecies of Panoquina ocola:

Panoquina ocola ocola: It is found in Paraguay North through tropical America and the West Indies to South Texas. Strays North to Southeast Arizona, West Texas, Central Missouri, Ohio, Central Pennsylvania, and Long Island.

Panoquina ocola distipuncta (Johnson & Matusik, 1988): Dominican Republic.

The doubt surrounding the species is that Panoquina are little studied and individuals are scarcely obtained, not to mention that Panoquina are quite hard to identify just by photo. However, I believe this is a Panoquina ocola, and if I got the species right then the subspecies is also correct.

The larvae feed on Oryza sativa (L., Poales: Poaceae "asian rice"), Saccharum officinarum (L.,Poales: Poaceae "sugarcane") and Hymenachne amplexicaulis (L., Poales: Poaceae "trompetilla grass"); however, there might be more. Adults are very rapid fliers and usually hang upside down when feeding from flowers. According to the information known publically, they are on flight in August through October in Arizona, in warm summer months in the North and throughout the year in Florida and South Texas. The adults feed on the nectar of Lantana sp. (L., Lamiales: Verbenaceae "lantana" / "shrub verbenas"), Scandix pecten-veneris (L., Umbellales: Apiaceae "shepherd's needle"), Asclepias incarnata (L., Gentianales: Apocynaceae "swamp milkweed"), Cephalanthus occidentalis (L., 1753, Gentianales: Rubiaceae: Cinchonoideae: Naucleeae "buttonbush" / "common buttonbush" / "button-willow" / "honey-bells") and Pontederia cordata (L., Commelinales: Pontederiaceae "pickerelweed" / "pickerel weed"); there might be more. The host plants to the larvae of Panoquina lucas are the same as those of Panoquina ocola, but include more, such as Sorghum halepense (Poales: Poaceae "Johnson grass"), while the adults of Panoquina lucas feed on the nectar of many flowers including Lantana sp.. The habitats of P. o. ocola are low, damp fields and pastures but will appear in flowery fields during migrations. The habitats of P. lucas are openings in subtropical scrub, forest edges, and nearby fields.

The forewings are long and project themselves beyond the hindwings when the butterfly is at rest. The upperside of the wings is dark brown and the forewings' upperside possesses pale, whitish spots, the last of which with a distinct V-shape. The underside of the hindwings is brown with no markings. The wingspan is of 35mm-43mm. The forewings of the females are usually purplish mixed with brown, so the subject portrayed here is probably a male. Due to the natural morphology of the females of Panoquina ocola, they are often mistaken with a similar butterfly of the same genus, Panoquina lucas. This is precisely why I did not guarantee a 100% species level confirmation; some Panoquina lucas, from what I saw, are practically identical to this.

The larvae are green with gray tones. The first two segments are green with shades of blue present and a dark dorsal line with a green stripe with shades of white on each side. The head is light green.

Sources:

bugguide.net/node/view/3052

www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Panoquina-ocola

Final instar larva picture of P. o. ocola: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/68b80a_67178e13673e41e49cc700e37eb55c1b.jpg/v1/fill/w_260,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/68b80a_67178e13673e41e49cc700e37eb55c1b.webp

Egg picture of P. o. ocola: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/68b80a_0cc9ec684e9a45b9999be0c105073009.jpg/v1/fill/w_260,h_195,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/68b80a_0cc9ec684e9a45b9999be0c105073009.webp

If you have a picture of the pupa stage of Panoquina ocola ocola and Panoquina lucas, please let me know.

YOU CAN FIND THE OTHER PICTURES AS WELL AS A DESCRIPTION IN PORTUGUESE IN PROJECT NOAH AT : http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/1724662852