Neotropical Skipper Butterfly

This particular species of butterfly is seen in very southern United States to northern Argentina and especially in deep rainforests. They have been very difficult to locate. However when they do find some they find it difficult to distinguish between different species because all are very closely related. This is where DNA barcoding comes in handy. This allowed the scientist to determine that there are 10 large sympatric species, but there may be more species that are more diverse. For this study they collected caterpillars, froze hem, de-thawed them, and finally dissected them. DNA was extracted and amplified. Results showed the diversity among the different organisms used. All organisms were closely related and were similar in looks.