Status: Rare breeding resident.

Distinguishing features: Males are uniformly dark brown above. Females are dark brown with a chevron of orange spots on the upper hind wing and with scattered orange spots on the upper forewing. Both sexes have an arrangement of arrow or 'X'-shaped orange patches on the lower hindwing.

Distribution and habitat: This species is restricted to fens, marshes, and wet prairies in the northwestern quarter of the state, and is one of our rarest wetland skippers. Contrary to the maps published in Opler and Krizek (1984), this species has never been found in eastern Iowa (or southwestern Wisconsin), making the northwestern Iowa and southern Minnesota population’s disjunct form population centers further east.

Natural History: This skipper is not easily observed, as it often flies in among the sedge and grass tops. Carex stricta has been reported elsewhere to serve as its larval host, but no observations of larval activity have been made in Iowa.