Bug FAQSonoran Skipper
Limochores sonora · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The Sonoran skipper has a wingspan of about 25 to 27 mm. It lives along the Pacific coast of the United States and reaches the extreme southern interior of British Columbia in Canada. Larvae feed on grasses such as Idaho fescue, while adults sip nectar from white-flowered thistles.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Polites sonora, known as the Sonoran skipper or western long dash, belongs to the butterfly family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan measures 25 to 27 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat grasses, possibly Idaho fescue (Festuca idahoensis). Adult butterflies drink nectar from flowers, including white-flowered thistles.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In British Columbia there is one generation that flies from mid-July to mid-August.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from mid-July to mid-August in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the Pacific coast of the United States and the extreme southern interior of British Columbia, Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 9 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Colorado, Nevada, Utah.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
When are Sonoran skippers active?
In British Columbia they appear as a single generation from mid-July to mid-August.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polites_sonora
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.