Bug FAQAaron's Skipper
Poanes aaroni · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The adult has bright orange upper wings edged in black and a paler orange underside with a light central stripe. It lives in salt-marshes along the Atlantic coast and its caterpillars feed only on smooth cordgrass. Four subspecies are recognized within the species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coastline.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed exclusively on smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Four subspecies are recognized within this butterfly.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, New Jersey, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
They feed only on smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora).
Source: Wikipedia
Where is this butterfly found?
It lives in salt-marsh habitats along the Atlantic coast.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poanes_aaroni
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.