Bug FAQDion Skipper
Euphyes dion · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The Dion skipper (Euphyes dion), also called the Alabama skipper, is a butterfly in the Hesperiidae family. Its wingspan is about 37 to 45 mm and it lives in scattered Atlantic-coast populations from the northeastern United States down to Florida and west to Texas and the Great Lakes region. Caterpillars feed on sedges such as Scirpus cyperinus and Carex species, while adults sip nectar from pickerelweed, sneezeweed, buttonbush and Alsike clover; adults fly from May-September in the south and July-early August in the north.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The Dion skipper, also known as Euphyes dion or Alabama skipper, belongs to the butterfly family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from about 37 to 45 millimeters.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults drink nectar from flowers such as pickerelweed, sneezeweed, buttonbush and Alsike clover.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults appear in July-early August in northern areas and from May to September in southern areas.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is a member of the skipper family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Minnesota, Georgia.
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
Questions people ask
What do Dion skipper caterpillars eat?
The caterpillars feed on sedges such as Scirpus cyperinus and Carex species.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do adult Dion skippers visit?
Adults sip nectar from pickerelweed, sneezeweed, buttonbush and Alsike clover.
Source: Wikipedia
When are Dion skippers active?
In the north they fly from July to early August; in the south they are on wing from May through September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find Dion skippers?
They live in scattered Atlantic-coast populations from the northeastern United States down to Florida and west to Texas and the Great Lakes region.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphyes_dion
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.