Small Checkered-Skipper
Pyrgus scriptura (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Identification: Upperside is black-brown; forewing white spots are small; hindwing spots are few and submarginal row may be absent. Underside of forewing repeats upperside markings. Underside of hindwing is pale with barely contrasting markings. Male does not have a costal fold. White hindwing fringe is streaked with black only halfway to the edge of the fringe.
Wing Span: 3/4 - 1 inch (2 - 2.5 cm).
Life History: Males patrol and occasionally perch in swales and gullies in their search for receptive females. Eggs are deposited singly on leaves of the host plant. Caterpillars make a webbed leaf nest in which they live and feed.
Flight: One brood from July-August in the north, several broods from March-November in the southern part of the range.
Caterpillar Hosts: Alkali mallow (Sida hederacea), scarlet globemallow (Sphaeralcea coccinea), and desert globemallow (S. ambigua); all in the mallow family (Malvaceae).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Prairie, open woodland, alkaline marshes and fields.
Range: Montana and eastern Wyoming south through Colorado and New Mexico to Mexico; west through Utah, Nevada, and Arizona to southern California and Baja California Norte.
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.
Comments: NULL
BAMONA Shop
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 1 - 24 of 263 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 30, 2025
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 14, 2025
Observation date: Apr 15, 2024
Submitted by: dvollmar
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 10, 2024
Observation date: Jul 17, 2024
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Socorro County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 23, 2024
Observation date: Apr 18, 2024
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 10, 2024
Observation date: Apr 20, 2024
Submitted by: guy_incognito
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Apr 21, 2024
Observation date: Aug 26, 2023
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Catron County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 29, 2023
Observation date: Jul 15, 2023
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 22, 2023
Observation date: Jul 08, 2023
Submitted by: dkaralun
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 12, 2023
Observation date: Jul 08, 2023
Submitted by: guy_incognito
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 12, 2023
Observation date: Jun 25, 2023
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jun 25, 2023
Observation date: Apr 16, 2023
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 17, 2023
Observation date: Oct 17, 2022
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 22, 2022
Observation date: Sep 12, 2022
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 11, 2022
Observation date: Jul 22, 2022
Submitted by: dchartier
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Aug 10, 2022
Observation date: Jul 09, 2022
Submitted by: topper72
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 13, 2022
Observation date: Apr 20, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 20, 2022
Observation date: Apr 20, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 20, 2022
Observation date: Apr 17, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 18, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2021
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Eddy County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 13, 2022
Observation date: May 25, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Apache County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 22, 2021
Observation date: Jun 19, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Glenn County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 19, 2021
Observation date: May 22, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Torrance County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 21, 2021
Observation date: May 22, 2015
Submitted by: Rob Wu
Region: Sierra County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Jun 25, 2017
Submitted by: Chrustay
Region: Cibola County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 03, 2021
- 1 of 11
- next ›