Male. Taken at Chimney Meadows, Oxon., on June 15th 2020. (© David Hastings)
(1/160th sec at f11)

Male underside. Taken at Arnside Knott, Cumbria on June 27th 2018. (© David Hastings)
(1/320th sec at f14)

Female. Taken at Radley Lakes, Oxon., on July 12th 2021. (© David Hastings)
(1/320th sec at f10)

Female underside. Taken at Otmoor, Oxon., on July 5th 2021. (© David Hastings)
(1/500th sec at f14)

Mating pair. Taken at Arnside Knott, Cumbria, on July 3rd 2016. (© David Hastings)
(1/500th sec at f13)

Description

Family: Hesperiidae

Wing span: 27 - 34 mm

This golden-coloured skipper is often found basking on vegetation, or making short buzzing flights among tall grass stems. Despite its name, it is not the smallest skipper found in the British Isles.

This butterfly is widespread in England and Wales, living in discrete colonies of both small and large populations. It is absent from Scotland and was first found in Ireland in 2005.

It inhabits rough grassland, where tall grasses grow, and may occur on roadside verges, beside hedgerows, on overgrown downland, in woodland clearings and along woodland rides.

Adults are on the wing between the middle of June and the beginning of August. The species over-winters as a larva.

The main larval foodplant is Yorkshire-fog, although other grasses are also used.

Nectar sources include Thistles, Knapweeds, Ragwort, Vetches and Red Clover.

The male is distinguished from the female by the sex brand on its forewings, which is a slightly curved line of specialised scent scales. This species can be distinguished from the similar Essex Skipper by the orange undersides to the tips of its antennae (they are black in the Essex Skipper), and by the fact that the sex brand crosses at least one vein (it doesn't in the Essex). The female is harder to distinguish, but the dark marginal border on the fore wing is well-defined (it is more diffuse and extends into the veins in the Essex).

Least Concern

Earliest UK sighting: 11th June ; Latest UK sighting: 24th August

Sightings