Native Resident or Tropical Stray?

I'm confused, which is not necesarily difficult for me at times. HAHA!  Seriously, though, I am. My last post discussed a "tropical stray" butterfly named Esmaralda Longtail dining on my Lantana Gold Mound bushes.

When I snapped the photos, I had no idea what the species was so I researched and found the "tropical stray" information.  I even linked it to my post for credibility.

However, my friend, Floridagirl, commented that this species might be the native resident skipper, Urbanus Proteus.  Knowing very well that FG is, for all intents and purposes, a native encyclopedia, I thought I should double-check my research.  Afterall, she pretty much knows about the Florida flora and fauna, without question.  Here's an internet photo of the Urbanus Proteus.

Upperside

courtesy of www.nearctica.com

Underside

Courtesy of www.nearctica.com

Here's a photo of the Esmaralda Longtail.

Upperside

Courtesy of www.nearctica.com

Underside

Courtesy of www.nearctica.com

Here's my garden guest.

Upperside

Underside

Let's see the internet photos side-by-side:

 

SERIOUSLY?!?!

There's not much of a difference.  They're both Urbanus but their ranges are quite different.

 This is the range for the Urbanus Proteus, including Florida.

And here's the range for the Esmaralda, clear across the Gulf from Florida.

Geez!  This is similar to my attempts at identifying the Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers.

Courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Courtesy of Wikipedia.com

But that's a subject for another day!!!  I digress.

I'll leave you with two final internet images to ponder...

Courtesy of www.duke.edu/jspippen/butterflies

Urbanus Proteus

Courtesy of Scarlet Eyes Photostream at Flickr

www.flickr.com/photos/41515403@N05/page2/

Esmaralda Longtail

Is anyone else confused?!