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.

Comments: NULL

BAMONA Shop

Check out our new Fall 2025 Classic BAMONA Logo Shirts and cozy Native Plants Hoodies!

Please donate!

We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.

Advertise with us!

Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.

Verified Sightings

Displaying 505 - 528 of 1210 verified sightings

Filter by Region

Observation date: Oct 10, 1995

Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Jackie Sones)

Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States

Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)

Verified date: Jan 01, 2012

Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Please donate!

Advertise with us!

Verified Sightings

Advertisement

Leonard's Skipper
Hesperia leonardus Harris, 1862