Hesperia leonardus

Leonard's skipper

H. l. montana
Conservation status
Apparently Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Tribe:	Hesperiini
Genus:	Hesperia
Species:	H. leonardus
Binomial name
*Hesperia leonardus* Harris, 1862
Synonyms
Anthomaster leonardus Hesperia stallingsi (HA Freeman, 1943) Hesperia ogallala (Leussler, 1921)

Hesperia leonardus, the Leonard's skipper,^[1] 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.

H. l. pawnee

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.

Subspecies

Hesperia leonardus leonardus on Tithonia diversifolia

Hesperia leonardus leonardus (Harris, 1862)
Hesperia leonardus montana (Skinner, 1911) – Pawnee montane skipper or mountain skipper
Hesperia leonardus pawnee (Dodge, 1874) – Pawnee skipper

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