Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus (Cramer, 1775)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Eudaminae
Identification: Wings are brown-black; hindwing is lobed. Forewing has transparent gold spots; underside of hindwing has a metallic silver band.
Wing Span: 1 3/4 - 2 5/8 inches (4.5 - 6.7 cm).
Life History: Adults perch upside down under leaves at night and on hot or cloudy days. To seek females males perch on branches and tall weeds, and occasionally patrol. Females lay single eggs near the host trees, and the caterpillars must find their proper host. Young caterpillars live in a folded leaf shelter; older ones live in a nest of silked-together leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two broods from May-September in most of the East, a single brood to the north and west, three-four broods from February-December in the Deep South.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many woody legumes including black locust (Robinia pseudacacia), honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) and false indigo (Amorpha species). Also selected herbaceous legumes such s Glycyrrhiza species.
Adult Food: The Silver-spotted Skipper almost never visits yellow flowers but favors blue, red, pink, purple, and sometimes white and cream-colored ones. These include everlasting pea, common milkweed, red clover, buttonbush, blazing star, and thistles.
Habitat: Disturbed and open woods, foothill streamcourses, prairie waterways.
Range: Extreme southern Canada and most of the continental United States except the Great Basin and west Texas; northern Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes: Formerly in the subfamily Pyrginae.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 11315 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 09, 2025
Submitted by: cfield
Region: Aiken County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 12, 2025
Observation date: Jul 17, 2025
Submitted by: actuallyamagpie
Region: Hamilton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: actuallyamagpie
Region: Clermont County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: actuallyamagpie
Region: Clermont County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Jul 19, 2025
Submitted by: actuallyamagpie
Region: Clermont County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Aug 07, 2025
Submitted by: RLS
Region: Monroe County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 07, 2025
Observation date: Aug 06, 2025
Submitted by: LittleWoodSatyr
Region: Defiance County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 06, 2025
Observation date: Aug 03, 2025
Submitted by: mywingedphotos
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 06, 2025
Observation date: Aug 01, 2025
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 03, 2025
Observation date: Jul 29, 2025
Submitted by: ShannonR
Region: Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 30, 2025
Observation date: Jul 26, 2025
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Morris County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 30, 2025
Observation date: Jul 27, 2025
Submitted by: LizHlabse
Region: Lake County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 27, 2025
Observation date: Jul 13, 2025
Submitted by: Alison Davies
Region: Lexington County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jul 27, 2025
Observation date: Jul 23, 2025
Submitted by: erica.desmond
Region: Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 24, 2025
Observation date: Jul 24, 2025
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe (Donna Forsythe)
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jul 24, 2025
Observation date: Jul 22, 2025
Submitted by: Steven Wilson
Region: Webster County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 22, 2025
Observation date: May 15, 2025
Submitted by: Falcon5177
Region: Douglas County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Jul 20, 2025
Observation date: Jul 05, 2024
Submitted by: acb22
Region: Sangamon County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 19, 2025
Observation date: Jul 17, 2025
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 17, 2025
Observation date: Aug 18, 2023
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2025
Observation date: Jul 31, 2022
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2025
Observation date: Jul 04, 2022
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Morris County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2025
Observation date: Aug 09, 2020
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2025
Observation date: Aug 03, 2020
Submitted by: Daniel Morton
Region: Union County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 16, 2025
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