Diet

• Adults feed on nectar from a variety of flowers. Records include Lantana and large white or pale-yellow flowers of woody vines, shrubs, and trees.

• The caterpillars feed primarily on plants in the canna family (Cannaceae) and related Marantaceae. Important hosts include Canna species, Thalia geniculata, and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea).

• The caterpillar rolls or folds portions of a leaf together to create a shelter. It generally remains concealed during the day and emerges to feed, particularly after dark.

Range

• Calpodes ethlius is widespread throughout the tropical and subtropical Americas. Its range extends from southern Texas and Florida through Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America and much of South America, reaching northern Argentina.

• It is well adapted to human-modified environments and can be found wherever suitable canna-family host plants are established.

• Around Zihua, the Brazilian Skipper should be considered locally common to occasional, particularly in gardens, landscaped areas, wetlands and other places where Canna or related plants grow.

Habitat

• This is a particularly adaptable skipper, occurring in gardens, residential areas, forest edges, wet areas and other disturbed habitats.

• Because its caterpillar hosts are frequently cultivated ornamentals, it can be surprisingly abundant around human habitation.

• Around Zihua, look for it around gardens, flowering landscaping, stream margins, wetlands and forest-edge clearings, especially where cannas or other Marantaceae are present.

Size

• The Brazilian Skipper is a large, robust skipper, with a wingspan of approximately 45–61 mm.

• It has long, pointed forewings and somewhat lobed hindwings. The upper wings are dark brown to brown-black with several conspicuous translucent or glass-like spots. The underside is more reddish brown, with three or four pale cream spots on the hindwing.