Bug FAQLeast Skipper
Ancyloxypha numitor · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
Also called: Common Least Skipper, Least skipperling
The least skipper is a small North American butterfly with a wingspan of 17-26 mm and rounded wings. It lives in damp areas with tall grasses and can be seen most of the year, especially in the south. Its larvae feed on various grasses such as rice, bluegrass, and cordgrass.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The butterfly has rounded wings and a slender body. Upper forewings are dark brown-black, sometimes with an orange patch. The hindwing is orange surrounded by a broad dark band.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 17 to 26 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Prefers damp or wet habitats that have tall grasses.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on grasses such as cogongrass, rice cutgrass, cultivated rice, bluegrass, cordgrass, and marsh millet.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults fly from May to September in northern areas, February to December in the south, and year-round in southern Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found throughout North America and belongs to the skipper family.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Four similar species occur in its range: the European skipper (more pointed wings, mostly orange upper side), the tropical least skipper (more orange, tiny black marginal spots below), the orange skipperling (bright orange upper side with black bases), and the southern skipperling (smaller, with a white ray on the underside of the hindwing).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 43 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan.
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/Ancyloxypha_numitor
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.