#3143 · 🦋 butterflies & moths

Long-tailed Skipper

Urbanus proteus

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Eliot VanOtteren · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Eliot VanOtteren · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © Eliot VanOtteren · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Eliot VanOtteren · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Mary Keim · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
6. © Mike Boone · CC BY-SA 4.0
7. Grand Harbor Vero Beach, FL, USA:© Ken Janes · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. North Judson, IN 46366, USA:© Donna Lucas · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. Stark County, OH, USA:© Bennie Saylor · CC BY-NC 4.0
10. Bull Creek, Florida, USA:© Edward Perry IV · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The long-tailed skipper ( Urbanus proteus ) is a spread-winged skipper butterfly found throughout tropical and subtropical South America, south to Argentina and north into the southern part of the United States of America. It cannot live in areas with prolonged frost. It is a showy butterfly, with wings of light brown tinted with iridescent blue, and two long tails extending from the hindwings. The robust body is light blue dorsally. It has a large head, prominent eyes,...

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 31,272iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
31,272 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).