Hobbies And Interests
Hesperiidae
Hesperiidae is a butterfly family commonly called skippers because their flight pattern is erratic, rapid and it appears as if they are skipping. The hesperiidae are characterized by their large, hairy body, large head, small pointed wings, functioning forelegs in both sexes, curved antennae and unique vein pattern on the forewing. The kinds of skippers that live in Florida are the clouded skipper, fiery skipper, Horace's duskywing, long-tailed skipper, silver-spotted skipper, southern skipperling and tropical checkered skipper.
Lycaenidae
This lycaenidae family is commonly called gossamer wings, because just like gossamer fabric, their wings are delicate and appear to shimmer. This happens because their wings are covered by pigmented and light-refracting scales. Gossamer wing butterflies are characterized by their small size and wingspan of less than 2 inches. The males have shorter forelegs than the females and a vaguely different wing vein pattern. Florida gossamers include atala, banded hairstreak, ceraunus blue, great purple hairstreak, Cassius blue, red-banded hairstreak, gray hairstreak and white M hairstreak.
Nymphalidae
These nymphalidae butterflies are frequently called brush-footed butterflies since the adult forelegs are small, hairy, resemble small brushes and are not used for walking. The butterflies are medium to large in size, brightly colored and distinctively marked. Their forewings have unusual vein patterns and their antennae tips are shaped like little knobs. In Florida, you will find the American painted lady, common buckeye, Carolina satyr, gulf fritillary, hackberry emperor, Julia, little viola's wood-satyr, mlachite, ,monarch, phaon crescent, red admiral, red-spotted purple, question mark, queen, American snout, viceroy, white peacock and zebra longwing heliconian.
Papilionidae
The Papilionidae butterflies, commonly called swallowtails, are often black or yellow and medium to large in size. They have distinguishing wing veins and patterns on their forewings and hindwings. Both sexes have fully functioning forelegs. Florida swallowtails are eastern black swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, giant swallowtail, pipevine swallowtail, palamedes swallowtail, polydamus swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail and zebra swallowtail.
Pieridae
As the common name of white and sulphur implies, pieridae butterflies are mostly white or yellow. They are medium in size and the wings of numerous species absorb and reflect ultraviolet light. Their forelegs are fully functional and the tips of their legs are forked. Florida is home to the barred yellow, checkered white, cloudless sulphur, dainty sulphur, great southern white, little yellow, orange-barred sulphur, sleepy orange and southern dogface.
Riodinidae
The common name of the riodinidae family is metalmarks, and the name refers to the bright, metallic spots that mark the wings. These butterflies have an uncommon vein pattern on the hindwings, and the majority of this species land on the undersides of leaves with their wings held open and entirely flat. The only species in Florida is the little metalmark.