Common Checkered-Skipper
Pyrgus communis / albescens

Common Checkered-Skipper is common thoughout the state. The outwardly identical White Checkered-Skipper has been split from Common Checkered- Skipper, but the two species are “not separable in the field and may actually be one species.” (A Swift Guide to Butterflies, Glassberg, 2012). Glassberg shows Common Checkered-Skipper not occurring on the Georgia Coast but instead shows White Checkered-Skipper occurring there. Here, they are considered one species. The habitat is almost any open area. The hostplants are mallows (Malvaceae) including arrow-leaf sida (Sida rhombifolia) and others. (Cech and Tudor, 2005). There are three broods from March (March 16, Upson County) through September (September 29, Douglas County), which are the early and late dates. Conservation Status: Secure.