"The male tropical checkered skipper is dark gray above with white spots. An extensive mat of blue-gray hairs covers the bases of the wings ... It ranges from Florida around the Gulf of Mexico to southeastern and southern Texas, then south through the West Indies and mainland tropical America to Argentina."

One can also see in this specimen the mark on the dorsal forewing, that BugGuide takes as diagnostic of the Tropical Checkered Skipper.

This is a view of the ventral side of a Tropical Checkered Skipper.

The Tvetens say (228) that "Without capturing the butterflies or examining them closely, it is difficult to distinguish between the two [Tropical Checkered Skipper & Common Checkered Skipper]."

Click here to compare the Tropical and the Common Checkered Skipper.

Photo taken with a Nikon D80, using a Nikon 200mm, f/4 micro, manual focus lens.

July 14, 2007.