Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Hesperiidae Scientific name Hesperia leonardus | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Tribe Hesperiini Rank Species | |
Similar Hesperia, Polites origenes, Hesperia metea, Hobomok skipper, Polites themistocles | ||
Hesperia leonardus, the Leonard's skipper, is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family. There are three subspecies. Next to the nominate species, these are the Pawnee skipper (ssp. pawnee), which is found in North America from western Montana and south-eastern Saskatchewan east to Minnesota, south to central Colorado and Kansas. Leonard's skipper ranges from Nova Scotia and Maine west through southern Ontario and the Great Lakes region to Minnesota, south to North Carolina, Louisiana and Missouri and the Pawnee montane skipper (ssp. montana) is endemic to the South Platte River drainage of Colorado.
The wingspan is 32–45 mm. There is one generation with adults on wing from August to October.
The larvae feed on various grasses, including Andropogon scoparius, Bouteloua gracilis, and Agrostis. Adults feed on flower nectar from various flowers, including Liatris punctata, thistles, asters, and teasel.