Silver-spotted skipper
Epargyreus clarus
Butterfly
Large, fast skipper of woodland edges, gardens, meadows, and riparian openings, instantly recognizable by the bright silver-white patch on the underside of each hindwing. Larvae feed on legumes (Fabaceae), including false indigos, wisterias, locusts, hogpeanut, groundnut, and other pea-family hosts, and stitch folded leaf shelters with silk while they grow. Adults nectar widely, especially at pink, purple, red, blue, white, and cream flowers, and they also visit mud and mineral sources.
Conservation
NatureServe global rank Secure (G5); widespread and common, with no IUCN, Xerces Red List, or USFWS listing. Supporting it is straightforward habitat gardening: keep a local Fabaceae host patch plus nectar flowers through summer, and avoid spraying caterpillar shelters as "leaf damage."
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 1
Both the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and NC State Extension document Apios americana as a larval host for the Silver-spotted Skipper; this species-level row replaces the old generic skipper-only surface for planning and wildlife detail pages.
Range
Southern Canada through most of the United States to northern Mexico; absent or scarce in the Great Basin and far western Texas.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Silver-spotted skipper (Epargyreus clarus). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/silver-spotted-skipper
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Butterflies and Moths of North America: Silver-spotted skipper
Species profile for range, flight season, legume larval hosts, and adult nectar behavior.
MDC Field Guide: Silver-spotted skipper
State agency species account used for identification detail, larval and adult food, and life-cycle timing. Missouri-scoped, so it is not cited for continental range.
Wikipedia: Epargyreus clarus
Corroborating reference for NatureServe rank, Fabaceae hosts, leaf-shelter behavior, and adult foraging preferences.
GBIF: Epargyreus clarus
GBIF backbone key 1947915 is the accepted Hesperiidae species Epargyreus clarus, an exact match.
iNaturalist: Epargyreus clarus
iNaturalist taxon 81559 is the species Epargyreus clarus, the silver-spotted skipper.