Clouded Skipper

Clouded Skipper

Lerema accius

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Great Smoky Mountains National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

130 Verified sightings at Great Smoky Mountains National Park From 2019 to 2026
342 In all 7 parks
October Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Clouded Skipper

Lerema accius, the clouded skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It is found in the United States from Georgia west to Texas, south to Florida, and south through Mexico and Central America to Venezuela and Colombia.

The wingspan is 32–45 mm. Adults are on wing year round in Florida and southern Texas. The larvae feed on various grasses including Saccharum giganteum, Stenotaphrum secundatum, Erianthus alopecturoides and Echinochloa povietianum. Adults feed on the nectar of various pink, purple, or white flowers, including shepherd's needle, selfheal, vervain, buttonbush and lantana. Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Congaree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
2 Great Smoky Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
3 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Shenandoah National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
7 Cumbres de Monterrey National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Austin 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 San Antonio 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Dallas 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 Houston 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
5 Monterrey 🇲🇽 México
~10%
6 Washington 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
7 Miami 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
8 Baltimore 🇺🇸 United States
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Clouded Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Clouded Skipper sighting in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, based on 130 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 39th most-seen of the 822 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Clouded Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

October

In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Clouded Skipper in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on a given day, against under 5% in June and December–April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Clouded Skipper?

Between 11 am and 2 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Clouded Skipper sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Great Smoky Mountains National Park the best place to see a Clouded Skipper?

2nd of 7

Of the 7 parks where we can rate Clouded Skipper sightings, Great Smoky Mountains National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%. The best odds are in Congaree National Park (United States, about 30%).

Which relatives of the Clouded Skipper live in Great Smoky Mountains National Park?

Same family: Hesperiidae

The closest relatives of the Clouded Skipper that you can see in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (family Hesperiidae, Skippers) are Silver-Spotted Skipper (about 40%), Juvenal's Duskywing (about 20%) and Zabulon Skipper (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Clouded Skipper sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Clouded Skipper is recorded against all the insects logged in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (130 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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