Butterfly Identification, SkippersNext Page1st Page

Smaller than a 2p piece and named after their skipping, dancing flight, Large and Small Skippers used to be quite scarce and rarely seen in gardens in North Wales. But in recent years they have been increasing and you are quite likely to see them nowadays, especially if you are near a wild grassy place that is allowed to grow long in the summer.
 

Skippers; (The Hesperiidae family) They hold their wings in a characteristic dart shape, the Small with its upper wing at 45 degrees to its body There are only 2 other species of Skippers  found locally, the Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, and both are now rare.See the Advanced ID Workshop (Skippers page) for details about these.	Large Skipper (Ochlodes venatus) Although the Large and Small Skippers can look very similar, the distinctive difference between them is the group of lighter orange spots on the upper wings of the Large Skipper. (the brown line in the middle upper wing of this individual is the male 'sex brand' that detects female pheromone, so only found on males). The caterpillars of both these species have to eat native meadow grasses, and hibernate inside the bases of these grass stems; so mowing too short, too soon will destroy many of them. (photo J. Miller)	Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) This photo shows the unique way the Small Skipper has of holding its upper wings at an angle to its body when at rest. The Large Skipper can also do this to a certain extent, but also notice how the wings of the Small Skipper are a uniform colour with no spots. (If you see a darker brown line on the upper wing that is the male's 'sex brand' where pheromones from the female are detected.) (photo J.Graham)