Bug FAQRare Skipper
Problema bulenta · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The Rare Skipper is a very small butterfly with a wingspan of about 4 to 5 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The species is hard to find in the United States and was first described from a drawing.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits brackish river marshes and unused rice paddies. A known population lives on a marsh beside the Chickahominy River in Virginia, where housing and recreation threaten the site.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on nectar of Pontederia cordata and Asclepias incarnata flowers. Larvae eat tall cordgrass and giant cutgrass.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In the north, females lay one clutch of eggs in June; in the south they lay two clutches, one in May-June and another in late July-September. Larvae likely overwinter mid-instar and develop faster as temperatures rise.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Egg-laying follows the same north-south pattern: one set in June up north, two sets (May-June and late July-September) down south.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Isolated populations occur along the eastern United States from southern New Jersey down to Georgia. Specific records list the Chickahominy River (VA), Wicomico River (MD), Cape Fear River (NC), Santee River (SC) and Savannah River (GA).
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Because it is rarely seen, it is often confused with other small marsh butterflies, but it was originally identified from a drawing rather than comparison with similar species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 7 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Maryland, South Carolina, New Jersey, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, Illinois.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in North America; endemic in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Where does the Rare Skipper live?
It lives in brackish river marshes and abandoned rice paddies along the East Coast, especially near the Chickahominy River in Virginia.
Source: Wikipedia
When does the Rare Skipper lay eggs?
In northern areas females lay one clutch in June; in southern areas they lay two clutches, one in May-June and another in late July-September.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Problema_bulenta
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-26 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-26.