Bug FAQClouded Skipper
Lerema accius · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The clouded skipper is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 3 to 4.5 cm. It lives across the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and into northern South America. Caterpillars eat various grasses, while adults sip nectar from pink, purple, or white flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Lerema accius, known as the clouded skipper, belongs to the butterfly family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 32 to 45 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found from Georgia west to Texas, south through Florida, Mexico, Central America, and into Venezuela and Colombia.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on grasses such as giant sugarcane, St. Augustine grass, and other tropical grasses.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In Florida and southern Texas, adults can be seen flying throughout the year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing year-round in the warmest parts of its range.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes the United States, Mexico, Central America, and parts of northern South America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 32 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Virginia, Arkansas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Are clouded skippers a garden pest?
Their larvae feed on grasses, but they are not reported to damage garden plants or crops.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lerema_accius
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.