Giant skipper

{{Short description|Subfamily of butterflies}} {{Automatic taxobox | name = Giant-skippers | image = GIANT-SKIPPER, ARIZONA (Agathymus aryxna) (9-27-12) alamo side canyon at ruby road, pajarito mts, scc, az -01 (9430718782).jpg | image_caption = ''Agathymus aryxna'' | taxon = Megathymini | authority = J. H. Comstock and A. Comstock, 1895 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = See text | synonyms = * Aegialini Stallings & Turner, 1958 * Agathymini Stallings & Turner, 1959

}}

The '''giant-skippers''' ('''Megathymini''') are a tribe of butterflies in the family Hesperiidae.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Li |first1=Wenlin |last2=Cong |first2=Qian |last3=Shen |first3=Jinhui |last4=Zhang |first4=Jing |last5=Hallwachs |first5=Winnie |last6=Janzen |first6=Daniel H. |last7=Grishin |first7=Nick V. |date=2019-03-26 |title=Genomes of skipper butterflies reveal extensive convergence of wing patterns |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=116 |issue=13 |pages=6232–6237 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1821304116 |doi-access=free |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=6442542 |pmid=30877254|bibcode=2019PNAS..116.6232L }}</ref>

==Taxonomy== Formerly, some authorities have classified the tribe as the disputed subfamily '''Megathyminae''', but more modern classifications have placed it within the subfamily Hesperiinae. The tribe Megathymini includes five genera and about eighteen species. These butterflies typically live in desert areas of the south-western United States and Mexico.<ref name= "MSU">{{cite web| title = Subfamily: Giant-Skippers | work = Butterflies and Moths of North America | publisher = Montana State University| url = http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?s=64&sci=Megathyminae&com=Giant-Skippers| accessdate =2009-04-29 }}</ref>

==Biology== The giant-skippers are larger than the other members of the family Hesperiidae, but are medium-sized butterflies with thick bodies.<ref name=" Daniels ">{{cite book | last = Daniels | first = Jaret C. | title = Butterflies of the Carolinas | publisher = Adventure Publications, Inc. | date = 2003 | location = Cambridge, MN | pages =9 | isbn = 978-1-59193-007-5}}</ref> They tend to be brown with yellow markings. The antennae are unhooked and some species even possess a short apiculus.<ref name="MSU "/> Long hairlike scales are present on the upperwings of males.<ref name="MSU "/> Their flight is fast and rapid.<ref name="Daniels "/> Males are territorial and tend to perch on low vegetation.<ref name="Daniels "/> Adults do not derive sustenance from flowers and rarely feed.<ref name="MSU "/><ref name="Daniels "/> Males do visit wet sand in order to drink.<ref name="MSU "/>

The eggs of members of the genera ''Megathymus'' and ''Stallingsia'' are glued to leaves, while the eggs of ''Agathymus'' species are dumped into host plant clumps.<ref name="MSU "/> The caterpillars of the giant-skippers bury themselves into the leaf or stem of a plant and feed from within the silk-lined tunnels they create. Pupae are formed in these tunnels.<ref name="MSU "/>

==Genera== The tribe of includes the following genera: * ''Agathymus'' * ''Carystoides'' Godman, 1901<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Jing |last2=Cong |first2=Qian |last3=Shen |first3=Jinhui |last4=Grishin |first4=Nick |date=2022-03-14 |title=Taxonomic changes suggested by the genomic analysis of Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera) |url=https://journals.flvc.org/mundi/article/view/130468 |journal=Insecta Mundi |language=en}}</ref> * ''Megathymus'' * ''Stallingsia''

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Skippers (butterflies) Category:Giant skippers Category:Butterfly tribes