Bug FAQTwin-spot Skipper
Oligoria maculata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The twin-spot skipper has a wingspan of about 35 to 42 mm. Its forewings are rounded, brown-black with four clear spots on top, and the hindwing underside is a pale red-brown with three white spots. It lives along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas, with occasional strays farther north.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings are rounded and dark brown-black. Four transparent spots appear on the upperside of the forewings. The underside of the hindwings shows a pale red-brown tint and three white spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 35 to 42 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found along the U.S. coast from North Carolina through Florida to east Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults sip nectar from various flowers, including Pontederia species. Caterpillars feed on several grass (Poaceae) species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from April through September, producing two or possibly three generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Flight period spans April to September with multiple generations.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Native to the United States along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas. Strays can appear farther north in states like Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas.
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
When can I see adult twin-spot skippers?
Adults fly from April through September, often in two or three generations.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on various grass species in the Poaceae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are twin-spot skippers found?
They live along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from North Carolina to Texas, with occasional strays farther north.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oligoria_maculata
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.