Bug FAQBerry's Skipper
Euphyes berryi · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
Berry's skipper is a small butterfly with males 36 to 38 mm and females 38 to 42 mm across. It lives in wet habitats like ponds, marshes, wet prairies and savannas from North Carolina to Florida. Caterpillars feed on sedges (Carex) and adults drink nectar from flowers such as pickerelweed.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have bright fulvous upper wings and darker brownish underside with brown borders and spots. Females have mostly black-brown upper wings and dark fulvous undersides; both sexes show pale yellowish veins on the hindwing underside. It can be hard to tell apart because other skippers like E. dion and E. byssus look similar.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males span 36 to 38 mm and females 38 to 42 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They live in wet places near ponds and swamps, such as marshes, wet prairies, savannas and areas with pitcher plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat various sedges, probably species of Carex. Adults sip nectar from flowers like pickerelweed (Pontederia).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The caterpillars overwinter and the species produces probably two generations, with adults on the wing from March to October.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults have been recorded from March through October, likely in two broods.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Historically they were found from North Carolina’s outer coastal plain down through South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It can be hard to tell apart because other skippers like E. dion and E. byssus look similar.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 6 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama.
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?
Caterpillars feed on various sedges, probably species of Carex.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see adult Berry's skippers?
Adults are on the wing from March through October, likely in two broods.
Source: Wikipedia
What habitats do they prefer?
They prefer wet areas near ponds, marshes, wet prairies, savannas and places with pitcher plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell Berry's skipper apart from similar skippers?
Look for the bright fulvous upper wings in males and the pale yellowish veins on the hindwing underside of both sexes; other skippers like E. dion and E. byssus lack these exact patterns.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphyes_berryi
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.