Bug FAQDusted Skipper
Atrytonopsis hianna · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The dusted skipper (Atrytonopsis hianna) is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 32 to 43 mm. It occurs throughout much of the United States, from Wyoming and Colorado eastward to New Hampshire and Massachusetts and south to Florida and the Gulf Coast. Its caterpillars feed on grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The dusted skipper, scientific name Atrytonopsis hianna, belongs to the skipper butterfly family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wings measure about 32 to 43 millimeters across.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
You’ll find this butterfly across a broad swath of the United States, from the western states like Wyoming and Colorado through the central plains to the east coast as far north as New Hampshire and Massachusetts, and down to Florida’s peninsula and the Gulf Coast.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The caterpillars feed on grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In northern parts there is a single generation with adults flying in May and June, while in the southern range there are two generations with adults on the wing from March through October.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
There is one generation with adults on the wing from May to June in the north, and two generations from March to October in Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It is native to the United States covering those regions.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Ohio, New Hampshire, New York, Nebraska, Colorado.
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 dusted skipper caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on the grasses big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium).
Source: Wikipedia
When are adult dusted skippers active?
Adults appear in May-June in the northern part of their range, and from March through October in the southern states such as Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrytonopsis_hianna
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.