Diet

• Adults feed on flower nectar, including nectar from papaya and other flowering plants.

• The caterpillars feed on plants in the Acanthaceae, with Ruellia being an important host genus.

• The larvae construct shelters from the leaves of their host plant, remaining concealed when not feeding.

Range

• Celaenorrhinus fritzgaertneri ranges from Mexico through Central America to Costa Rica, with its distribution extending northward into the extreme southwestern United States.

• It is occasionally sighted in the Zihua area, particularly in suitable forest and edge habitat.

Habitat

• Fritzgaertner's Flat inhabits tropical and subtropical forest, woodland edges, clearings and secondary vegetation.

• It can be particularly difficult to find because adults spend much of the day resting in sheltered locations such as rock overhangs, ledges, culverts and beneath leaves. Adults become more active around dawn and dusk.

• Around Zihua, good places to look would include shaded forest trails, rocky arroyos, forest edges and areas where Ruellia and other Acanthaceae grow.

Description

• This is a medium-sized, relatively robust skipper, with a wingspan of approximately 42–50 mm.

• The wings are predominantly light brown, giving the butterfly a somewhat moth-like appearance.

• The forewing has conspicuous pearly-white translucent spots, including a prominent median row and a smaller group of subapical spots.

• The hindwing is mottled with lighter brown markings, while the wing fringes are distinctly checkered.

• The underside repeats much of the dorsal pattern but appears somewhat paler. The rounded wings give it a more butterfly-like appearance than many other skippers.