David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
_____________________________________________________________________
Butterflies 11 – Essex Skippers
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus lineola (m)
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola (f)
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola (f)
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola (f)
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola (f)
ESSEX
SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola
(f)
ESSEX SKIPPER Thymelicus
lineola (f)
·
Essex Skipper Butterflies Thymelicus
lineola are frequent visitors to flowers. This
little butterfly has broadened its range recently, so the parochial vernacular
name is not particularly appropriate. Fresh specimens (as shown above) are
bright orange, and the males possess characteristic sex-brands of black scales
on their forewings (see first photograph). Unlike those of the Small Skipper
Butterfly T. sylvestris these are not curved, and they are also
comparatively short. The shape of the brand is important when making any
comparison with the two other small ‘golden’ British Skippers, the only other
alternative being the Lulworth Skipper Butterfly T. action. The
range of the Lulworth Skipper is very restricted in the UK so unless visiting a
site where this species is known to be present there are only two options. As
is so often the case, the situation in continental Europe is more complicated
as T. acteon is quite widespread! Fortunately,
there aren’t any other similar species in most of Europe! There is a
straightforward method of separating Small and Essex Skippers, but this requires
a good view of the underneath of the tips of their antennae – not always to
obtain easy in the field (and it may require the observer to kneel to be able
to see this feature, or to be in possession of some sort of magnifier if their
eyes are ageing!). Older, worn specimens may prove to be challenging to separate!
The tips of the antennae of the Essex Skipper when viewed from below are sooty
black and those of the otherwise similar Small Skipper are orange. The
photographs on this page show the antennae from above and below, one photograph
has been deliberately focussed on their tips, and the Small Skipper has been
illustrated elsewhere on this web site for those wishing to make a comparison.
Making this distinction will be important if the butterflies are being counted.
They are very mobile and fast flying, so multiple sightings are a distinct
possibility! There is an added interest to the second and third photographs as
the butterfly shown had clearly been a recent visitor to an orchid. The most
likely species would have been a Pyramidal Orchid Anacamptis
pyramidalis and the evidence is provided in the form of the pollinia
clamped to the proboscis of the unfortunate butterfly that was unwittingly
contributing to the pollination of the orchid!
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