Attributes of Hesperia leonardus
Leonard's Skipper
Hesperia leonardus Harris, 1862
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Includes three dissimilar subspecies; all have yellow felt inside the male's forewing stigma. Leonard's Skipper (H. l. leonardus): Upperside is red-orange with wide black borders. Underside of hindwing is brick red with a band of white, cream, or yellow spots. Pawnee Skipper (H. l. pawnee): Upperside is red-orange with reduced black markings. Underside of hindwing is yellow-orange and may have a band of faint spots. Individuals intermediate between these 2 subspecies are found in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Pawnee Montane Skipper (H. l. montana): Upperside is brownish red with distinct yellowish spots near the outer margins. Underside is brown with cream spots.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches (3.2 - 4.5 cm).
Life History: Males perch or patrol near nectar plants to find receptive females. Eggs are scattered on or near the host plants. Caterpillars feed on leaves and live in shelters of tied leaves. First-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from August-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various perennial grasses including little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius), blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), and bent grass (Agrostis).
Adult Food: Flower nectar, especially from blazing star (Liatris punctata), but also thistles, asters, teasel, and others.
Habitat: Open grassy areas including native prairies, fields, barrens, and meadows.
Range: The Pawnee Skipper occurs from western Montana and southeastern Saskatchewan east to Minnesota, south to Central Colorado and Kansas. Leonard's Skipper ranges from Nova Scotia and Maine west through southern Ontario and the Great Lakes region to Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Louisiana, and Missouri. The Pawnee Montane Skipper occurs only in the South Platte River drainage of Colorado.
Conservation: The Pawnee Montane Skipper is listed as a Threatened species because of its small numbers and small range (25 x 5 miles). This subspecies has The Nature Conservancy rank: T1 - Critically imperiled globally because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range). The other subspecies have The Nature Conservancy rank: T4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
NCGR:
Management Needs: For the Pawnee Montane Skipper, periodic fire may be necessary to maintain the open nature of the habitat. Continue to monitor populations.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Hesperia leonardus
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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September 08, 2012 | tjantscher | Monona County, Iowa, United States | May 21, 2013 | Details |
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September 08, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | March 14, 2013 | Details |
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September 02, 2012 | stormyeyes99 | Sussex County, New Jersey, United States | December 05, 2012 | Details |
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September 15, 2012 | TSims | Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States | October 24, 2012 | Details |
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July 31, 2012 | Bob Bouman | Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States | October 19, 2012 | Details |
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October 03, 2012 | AJ Trently | Lewis County, Tennessee, United States | October 06, 2012 | Details |
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September 01, 2012 | Julius | Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States | September 02, 2012 | Details |
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August 26, 2012 | aarongunnar | Dunn County, Wisconsin, United States | August 26, 2012 | Details |
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August 29, 2011 | Rick Henle | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | June 11, 2012 | Details |
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August 27, 2011 | tjrickert | Tucker County, West Virginia, United States | February 12, 2012 | Details |
| September 11, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Tor Hansen) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 18, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Richard Forster) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 30, 1998 | legacy.reporter (JS + BN + JT) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 13, 1999 | legacy.reporter (Alison Robb) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 20, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie + Lyn Lovell) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 13, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 03, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 12, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 20, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Dave Small) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 21, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Dave Small) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 11, 1993 | legacy.reporter (Stan Bolton) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 12, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 03, 1994 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 12, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 30, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Dave Small) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 03, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 08, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 10, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 20, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Dave Small) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 21, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Dave Small) | Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 30, 1992 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 14, 1992 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 22, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 28, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 31, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 03, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 25, 1999 | legacy.reporter (Brian Cassie) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 24, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Richard Hildreth) | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 01, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 27, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 29, 1999 | legacy.reporter (Allan Keith) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 30, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 01, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 06, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 19, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 23, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 26, 1998 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 06, 1997 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 19, 1999 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 03, 1999 | legacy.reporter (Matt Pelikan) | Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details |
