Bug FAQCommon Sootywing
Pholisora catullus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
Also called: Common Sootywing Skipper
The common sootywing is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 25 to 33 mm. It lives in the central United States down to central Mexico, and occasional strays reach as far north as southern British Columbia and southern New England. Caterpillars eat Chenopodium, Amaranthus and Celosia, while adults sip nectar from many flowers such as dogbane, milkweed and peppermint.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Pholisora catullus, called the common sootywing or roadside rambler, belongs to the skipper family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 25 to 33 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found from the central United States southward to central Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on plants such as Chenopodium album, Amaranthus and Celosia species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
There are two generations; adults fly from May to August in the north and from March to November in Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing in two broods, May-August in northern areas and March-November in Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its core range covers the central United States down to central Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is a skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 48 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Illinois, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio, California, Idaho.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pholisora_catullus
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.