Small skipper
| Small skipper | |
|---|---|
_-_Kulna.jpg)
| |
| Female | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Hesperiidae |
| Genus: | Thymelicus |
| Species: | T. sylvestris
|
| Binomial name | |
| Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)
| |
The small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) is a
Hesperiidae
.
Appearance
It has a rusty orange colour to the wings, upper body, and the tips of the antennae. The body is silvery white below, and it has a wingspan of 25–30 mm. This butterfly is very similar in appearance to the Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola). In the small skipper, the undersides of the tips of the antennae are yellow orange, whereas they are black in the Essex skipper. The black area on the lower edge of the upper wings also differs. Like the other orange grass skippers, the male has a distinctive black stripe made up of scent scales.
-
Thymelicus sylvestris ♂ -
♂ △
_Thymelicus_sylvestris_-_Foret_de_Bouconne,_France_-_male_dorsal.jpg)
_Thymelicus_sylvestris_-_Foret_de_Bouconne,_France_-_male_ventral.jpg)
Distribution
This butterfly's range includes much of Europe (east to the
. It is typically occurring where grass has grown tall.Life cycle and food plants
Eggs are laid loosely inside grass sheaths of the
knapweeds
.
-
Eggs -
figs 3, 3a, 3b larvae after last moult;3c pupa -
Small skipper
(Germany 2009)
References
- Jim Asher et al. The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland Oxford University Press
External links
Media related to Thymelicus sylvestris at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Thymelicus sylvestris at Wikispecies- Butterfly Conservation
- BBC Science & Nature
- Lepiforum.de
- UK Butterflies
- Butterfly Conservation Armenia
