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Urbanus (butterfly) facts for kids

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Urbanus (butterfly)
Long-tailed Skipper (30591008495).jpg
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Hesperiidae
Subfamily:
Eudaminae
Genus:
Urbanus

Hübner, [1807]
Synonyms
  • Goniurus Hübner, [1819]
  • Eudamus Swainson, 1831
  • Lyroptera Plötz, 1881

Urbanus is a group of skipper butterflies that live in warm parts of the Americas. These butterflies are found from the southern United States all the way down to South America. They were first named by a scientist called Jacob Hübner in 1807.

These butterflies are part of a larger family called Hesperiidae, known as skipper butterflies. They belong to a specific group within this family called Eudaminae. For a long time, this group was thought to be part of another group of skippers, but now scientists know they are different.

Scientists are always learning more about how living things are related. Some smaller groups of butterflies used to be separate but are now included within the Urbanus genus. One of these was called Eudamus. However, some scientists think that the Urbanus group might be too big and that some of these smaller groups should be separate again. This is how science works – new discoveries help us understand nature better!

Discover the Many Types of Urbanus Skippers

The Urbanus genus includes many different kinds of skipper butterflies. Each one has its own unique features and places where it lives. Here are some of the species found in this group:

  • Urbanus albimargo (Mabille, 1875) – You can find this butterfly in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Venezuela, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.
    • U. albimargo albimargo – Lives in Panama, Costa Rica, and Colombia.
    • U. albimargo rica (Evans, 1952) – Found in Paraguay.
    • U. albimargo takuta (Evans, 1952) – Lives in Guyana.
  • Urbanus ambiguus (de Jong, 1983) – This species is found in Suriname.
  • Urbanus belli (Hayward, 1935) – Also known as Bell's longtail, it flies from Mexico south to Bolivia and Argentina.
  • Urbanus carmelita (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)
    • Urbanus carmelita carmelita – Lives in Brazil.
    • Urbanus carmelita barra (Evans, 1952) – Found in Brazil (Bahia).
    • Urbanus carmelita trebia (Möschler, 1879) – Seen in Venezuela, Panama, and Colombia.
  • Urbanus chalco (Hübner, 1823) – The Chalco longtail is found in Panama, Colombia, Brazil, and Argentina.
  • Urbanus chales (Godman & Salvin, [1893]) – This butterfly lives in Mexico.
  • Urbanus cindra (Evans, 1952) – Found in Bolivia.
  • Urbanus dorantes (Stoll, [1790]) – Known as the Dorantes longtail or lilac-banded longtail.
  • Urbanus doryssus (Swainson, 1831) – This is the white-tailed longtail or white-tailed skipper. It lives in southern Texas, Central America, South America, and Argentina.
    • Urbanus doryssus doryssus – Found in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, and Honduras.
    • Urbanus doryssus albicuspis (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869) – Lives in Colombia and Brazil.
  • Urbanus dubius (Steinhauser, 1981) – Found in Colombia.
  • Urbanus elmina (Evans, 1952) – Lives in Ecuador.
  • Urbanus esma (Evans, 1952) – Found in Mexico and Brazil.
  • Urbanus esmeraldus (Butler, 1877) – The Esmeralda longtail lives from Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, and Honduras to Brazil and Colombia.
  • Urbanus esta (Evans, 1952) – Found in Mexico and Brazil.
  • Urbanus evenus (Ménétriés, 1855) – Lives in Brazil.
  • Urbanus evona (Evans, 1952) – Found in Mexico and Guatemala.
  • Urbanus huancavillcas (Williams, 1926) – Lives in Ecuador.
  • Urbanus longicaudus (Austin, 1998) – Found in Brazil.
  • Urbanus magnus (Steinhauser, 1981) – Lives in Ecuador.
  • Urbanus parvus (Austin, 1998) – Found in Brazil.
  • Urbanus procne (Plötz, 1880) – The brown longtail lives in southern Texas, Arizona, Central America, South America, Argentina, and Brazil.
  • Urbanus prodicus (Bell, 1956) – Found in Mexico.
  • Urbanus pronta (Evans, 1952) – The pronta longtail lives in Mexico and Honduras.
  • Urbanus pronus (Evans, 1952) – Found in Central America, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, and Paraguay.
  • Urbanus proteus (Linnaeus, 1758) – This is the famous long-tailed skipper. It lives in southern California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Central America, South America, and Argentina.
    • U. proteus proteus – Found in Mexico.
    • U. proteus domingo (Scudder, 1872) – Lives from Saba to Grenada and Haiti.
  • Urbanus reductus (Riley, 1919) – Found in Brazil.
  • Urbanus simplicius (Stoll, [1790]) – The plain longtail lives in Texas, Central America, South America, Suriname, Brazil, Honduras, and Bolivia.
  • Urbanus tanna (Evans, 1952) – The Tanna longtail lives from Mexico to Colombia.
  • Urbanus teleus (Hübner, 1821) – The teleus longtail lives in Central America, southern Arizona, southern Texas, South America, French Guiana, Brazil, and Argentina.
  • Urbanus velinus (Plötz, 1880) – Found in Brazil and Guyana.
  • Urbanus villus (Austin, 1998) – Lives in Brazil.
  • Urbanus virescens (Mabille, 1877) – The virescens longtail lives in French Guiana, Brazil, and Peru.
  • Urbanus viridis (Freeman, 1970) – Found in Mexico.
  • Urbanus viterboana (Ehrmann, 1907) – The viterboana longtail lives from Mexico to Colombia and Ecuador.
  • Urbanus zagorus (Plötz, 1880) – Found in Brazil and Argentina.

Images for kids

  • Esmeralda longtail (Urbanus esmeraldus)

    Esmeralda longtail (Urbanus esmeraldus), Costa Rica

  • Esmeralda longtail (Urbanus esmeraldus) underside

    Esmeralda longtail (Urbanus esmeraldus), Costa Rica

  • Macrolepidoptera15seit 0349

    Urbanus and related genera depicted in Adalbert Seitz's Macrolepidoptera of the World

See also

In Spanish: Urbanus (insecto) para niños

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