Speaking of European butterflies, what about the one that has the West in its name? "Hesperia" was the name given by the Greeks to the lands where the sun fell asleep at sunset and, to them, those places were actually our latitudes.
This butterfly, therefore, could be told to be more Italian than Italy itself and for this reason it is not a rare event in our country to come across its graces and its "comma", that is to say, the "dashes" dotting its wings. Moreover, Hesperia comma is one of the most widespread species of the family Hesperiidae in the world. It is found in Alaska, most of Canada and the western half of the United States. In addition to North America, it is found throughout Europe and on the Atlas mountain range in North Africa. Its range extends eastward through temperate and subarctic Asia to Siberia and China. This species is found in a wide range of grassy habitats including alpine meadows, open woodlands, and tundra edge grasslands. Adults are extremely active, darting in every direction grazing the ground. Males inhabit vaguely defined territories where they dart from flower to flower, stopping periodically to roost on low grass or bare ground. They swoop down to intercept and inspect any small insects that fly quickly, including flies, bees, wasps and other butterflies. They are very combative in nature and will chase away even larger butterflies. During male/male encounters, the butterflies frantically zigzag just above the ground, then spiral upward in tight circles until the weaker male is ousted, then the other male returns a few feet from his initial position. Both sexes eagerly nectarize a wide variety of low-growing flowers, including, for example, thistle and clover.