Firetips or firetail skippers are the tribe

Tribe (biology)

In biology, a tribe is a taxonomic rank between family and genus. It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes.Some examples include the tribes: Canini, Acalypheae, Hominini, Bombini, and Antidesmeae.-See also:* Biological classification* Rank...

 Pyrrhopygini of the skipper butterflies (family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Hesperiidae). The roughly 150 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 are found only in the Neotropics, with the exception of one species which just reaches into the USA. Their common names refer to the red tuft at the end of the abdomen of many Pyrrhopygini.

They were formerly treated as distinct subfamily Pyrrhopyginae. But they actually belong to the large and diverse spread-winged skipper subfamily (Pyrginae), as the pyrgine tribe Tagiadini

Tagiadini

The Tagiadini are a tribe in the skipper butterfly subfamily Pyrginae. Many of its genera were of uncertain relationships for long, and delimitation of the Tagiadini versus the Celaenorrhini was quite disputed at times. The species of this tribe are found in mostly tropical regions of Africa, Asia...

 is their closest living relative.

Subtribes

Of the four recognized subtribes of firetail skippers, one (the Zoniina) is monotypic

Monotypic

In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...

, containing only the species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 Zonia zonia. The subtribes are:

• Oxynetrina
• Passovina
• Pyrrhopygina
• Zoniina