Bug FAQSandhill Skipper
Polites sabuleti · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The sandhill skipper is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 22 to 32 mm. Caterpillars feed on a variety of grasses, while adults sip nectar from flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Polites sabuleti, known as the sandhill skipper or saltgrass skipper, belongs to the butterfly family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 22 to 32 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The species has also been introduced to Hawaii.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat several grasses such as Bermuda grass, Kentucky bluegrass, saltgrass, and various fescues. Adult butterflies feed on flower nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
At high elevations there is one generation with adults flying from June to August.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
High-elevation adults are on wing from June through August. In warmer, low-elevation parts of its range adults appear from March to October.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes southern British Columbia, eastern Washington, California, northern Arizona, Baja California, southeastern Wyoming, central Colorado, and northeastern New Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is a member of the skipper family Hesperiidae, which includes many similar small, fast-flying butterflies.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Wyoming, New Mexico.
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 sandhill skipper caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on a range of grasses such as Bermuda grass, Kentucky bluegrass, saltgrass, and fescues.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see adult sandhill skippers?
Adults are active from June to August at high elevations and from March to October in southern and low-elevation areas.
Source: Wikipedia
Is the sandhill skipper found in my area?
It occurs from southern British Columbia and Washington down through California and Arizona, extending east to Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico, and it has been introduced to Hawaii.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polites_sabuleti
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.