Astraptes fulgerator, the two-barred flasher, is a cryptic species complex in the spread-wing skipper butterfly genus Astraptes. It ranges all over the Americas, from the southern United States to northern Argentina. A. fulgerator's adults all look quite alike. They are mid-sized skipper butterflies with the typical wing shape of this group. The upper side is black, with basal to post basal blue corners which are more extensive on the forewings. There is one distal-tomal and one apical band on the forewing; these are usually off white to light blue but the former may be quite white towards the costal margin. The thorax has bluish hair on the back, the underside is yellow to orange.[1] The caterpillars and pupae show a wide range of colors and patterns, and the caterpillars also vary in food preference. Last-instar caterpillars are black with a pattern consisting of light to bright yellow dots along the sides, or rings of varying thickness, sometimes interrupted on the back, in a range of colors varying from white to orange red.
Once the egg hatches, a caterpillar emerges that is yellow to greenish, striped on sides, with black dots in rows across the back. The caterpillar will build a tent in a host plant where it hides in the day. The host plant may be partridge pea (Chamaecrista cinerea), sennas (Senna),[3] clovers (Trifolium), or other legumes (Fabaceae). The caterpillar will usually grow to a length between 41 and 45 mm (1.6 and 1.8 in).
The caterpillar will form a chrysalis that is pointed at both ends and humped in the middle. The chrysalis will be either yellow or green with pink or green stripes. From the chrysalis comes a medium-sized butterfly (55–70 mm (2.2–2.8 in)) with fairly elongated but not angled wings.
The male butterfly is clear yellow above and yellow or mottled with reddish brown below and the female is lemon yellow to golden or white on both surfaces, with varying amounts of black spotting along the margin and a black open square or star on the bottom forewing. Wingspan: 63–78 mm (2.5–3.1 in).