Bug FAQWhite Checkered-Skipper
Burnsius albezens · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Hesperiidae
The white checkered-skipper is a small skipper butterfly with a wingspan of about 25 to 38 mm. It lives at low elevations in the southern United States and Mexico. Its caterpillars probably eat plants in the mallow family, while adults sip nectar from many flowers.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Burnsius albezens, called the white checkered-skipper, is a skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The species has a wingspan ranging from 25 to 38 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae probably feed on several mallow-family plants such as Sphaeralcea, Abutilon and Callirhoe. Adult butterflies take nectar from a variety of flowering plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing throughout the year across most of their range.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The species can be seen flying in every season where it occurs.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It is a skipper butterfly in the family Hesperiidae, formerly known as Pyrgus albescens.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Florida, Texas, Arizona, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada.
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 the caterpillars eat?
They probably feed on plants in the mallow family, including Sphaeralcea, Abutilon and Callirhoe.
Source: Wikipedia
What do adult white checkered-skippers feed on?
Adults sip nectar from a wide range of flowering plants.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see these butterflies?
Adults are active and on the wing year round in most of their range.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Hesperiidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burnsius_albezens
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.