Bug FAQIndian Skipper
Hesperia sassacus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
Also called: North American Indian Skipper, Sassacus Skipper
The Indian skipper has a wingspan of about 25 to 30 mm. Adults fly from late May through early July. It lives in the northeastern United States and a band across eastern Canada from New Brunswick to Manitoba.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The Indian skipper is a butterfly in the skipper family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 25 to 30 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in the northeastern U.S. and in Canada from southwestern New Brunswick across Quebec to southern Manitoba.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on various grasses such as nodding fescue, poverty grass, panic grass, Bouteloua, Andropogon, Aristida, and other Poaceae.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from late May to early July.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The flight season runs from late May through early July.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes the northeastern United States and a broad band of eastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 22 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Michigan, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maine, New York.
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 the caterpillars eat?
They feed on several grass species, including nodding fescue, poverty grass, panic grass, and other Poaceae.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperia_sassacus
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.