Pyrgus ruralis, the two-banded checkered skipper, is a species of skipper butterfly (family Hesperiidae).

It is found from southern British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains of SW Alberta, with populations south to central California, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado, and one population of an endangered subspecies in southern California, in the mountains east of San Diego.

The larvae feed on herbaceous plants in the rose family Rosaceae, including Potentilla drummondii, Horkelia fusca, Horkelia tenuiloba and Horkelia bolanderi clevelandii.

Adults feed on flower nectar.

This Pyrginae-related article is a stub.