Bug FAQPalmetto Skipper
Euphyes arpa · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The Palmetto Skipper is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 1¾ to 2 inches (41 to 49 mm). Males are bright orange with black borders, while females are more muted; both sexes have a yellow-orange underside on the hindwings and a bright orange thorax and head. It lives in moist, low-lying palmetto scrub habitats such as open pine flats and forested wetlands, where saw palmetto is abundant.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males are bright orange with black borders and females are more neutral in color; both have a yellow-orange underside on the hindwings and a bright orange thorax and head.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 41 to 49 mm, roughly 1¾ to 2 inches.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It prefers moist areas with low palmetto scrub, open pine flats, and forested scrub or shrub wetlands that contain plenty of saw palmetto.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on the fronds of the saw palmetto (Serenoa repens). Adult butterflies sip nectar from a variety of flowers, including pickerelweeds (genus Pontederia).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species overwinters in the larval stage and produces several generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing in Florida from about March through November, with multiple broods during that period.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is most common in Florida and has also been recorded in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 5 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do Palmetto Skipper caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on the fronds of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens).
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see adult Palmetto Skippers?
Adults are active from March to November in most of Florida, with several broods each year.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the Palmetto Skipper live?
It lives in moist habitats with low palmetto scrub, such as open pine flats and forested wetlands that have abundant saw palmetto.
Source: Wikipedia
How large is the Palmetto Skipper?
Its wingspan is about 41 to 49 mm, or roughly 1¾ to 2 inches.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphyes_arpa
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.