Minnesota Seasons - Arctic Skipper

Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5 - Secure

S4S5 - Apparently Secure to Secure

Minnesota

not listed

Species in Greatest Conservation Need

Description

Size

Wingspan: 1″ to 1¼″

Similar Species

Habitat

Open, moist, grassy areas near woods

Ecology

Season

One brood from mid-May to early July

Behavior

Life Cycle

Larva Food/Hosts

Grasses, especially purple reedgrass (Calamagrostis purpurascens).

Adult Food

Nectar from flowers including bog Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia), and iris (Iris spp.).

Distribution
		Sources 7, 21 , 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83. Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 6/17/2025).
6/17/2025

Occurrence
Common

Taxonomy

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Superfamily

Papilionoidea (butterflies)

Family

Hesperiidae (skippers)

Subfamily

Heteropterinae (skipperlings)

Tribe

Heteropterini

Genus

Carterocephalus

Superfamily
Skippers have traditionally been placed in their own superfamily Hesperioidea because of their morphological similarity. Recent phylogenetic analysis (Kawahara and Breinholt [2014]) suggests that they share the same common ancestor as other butterfly families, and thus belong in the superfamily, Papilionoidea.

Species
This species was formerly calssified as Carterocephalus palaemon. It was previously thought to have a Holarctic distribution, occurring across Europe, Asia, and North America. A recent analysis of mostly North American butterflies (Zhang, et al., 2020) found that genomic sequencing reveals three distinct clusters, one Old World and two New World. The differences between the three clusters suggest that they are three distinct species. The authors proposed splitting the species. Old world species retain the name Carterocephalus palaemon. The name Carterocephalus mandan was reinstated for the eastern North American cluster, and the name Carterocephalus skada was reinstated for the western North American cluster.