Southern Skipperling

The Southern Skipperling (Copaeodes minima) is the tiniest of our North American Skippers. This little butterfly measures just a scant 1.6 - 2.2 cm in wingspan.

I found this diminutive butterfly darting between wild flowers blooming in an area of recently mowed grasses. The tiny size of this skipper is very difficult to convey with a photograph as I had nothing to show for scale.

The Southern Skipperling hosts on Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon) and the adults are most often found in open grassy areas. This tiny species can be found from Florida north to North Carolina and wst through the Gulf states and into Texas. The species is also reported from Mexico south to Panama.

The genus Copaeodes contains six species of butterflies that are found in southern North America and in portions of Central and South America. The Southern Skipperling is our only Florida resident of the genus.