Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Pahaska Skipper
Hesperia pahaska (Leussler, 1938)


Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Hesperiinae
Identification: Upperside is yellow-orange with wide black borders. Male has yellow felt in the forewing stigma. Underside of hindwing is orange-brown with a short band of white spots.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 5/8 inches (3.2 - 4.2 cm).
Life History: To wait for receptive females, males perch on hilltops all day. Females deposit eggs singly on or near the host plants; caterpillars feed on leaves and take shelter in tied-together leaves. Caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from May-July in the north; two broods from April-October in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various grasses including blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis) and fluff grass (Erioneuron pulchellum).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Short-grass prairie foothills, open pine forest, chaparral, desert grassland.
Range: Through the Rocky Mountain range from central Montana and northwest North Dakota south to central Mexico; west to southeast California. A stray to northwest Minnesota.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL