The Chromosomes of Skipper Butterflies From Southwestern North America (Lepidoptera, Hesperiidae)

Abstract

Chromosome numbers and karyotypic observations are reported for 22 species of Hesperiidae (Pyrginae and Hesperiinae) found in southwestern North America. Characteristic haploid numbers for certain genera are found: Amblyscirtes (N=29), Chiodes (N=31), Erynnis (N=30 or 31), Heliopetes (N=29 or 30), Panoquina (N=29), and Wallengrenia (N=28, 29, 30). Two genera with widely varying chromo-some numbers are Achalarus (N=16, 29) and Pyrgus (N=28, 32). The pheno-typically unusual Celotes nessus (Edwards) is shown to be cytogenetically distinct from all other Pyrginae with a haploid number of 13-14, the lowest number reported to date for the family Hesperiidae.