David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
_____________________________________________________________________
Butterflies 26 – Small Skippers
SMALL SKIPPER BUTTERFLY Thymelicus sylvestris (f)
SMALL SKIPPER BUTTERFLY Thymelicus sylvestris (f)
SMALL SKIPPER BUTTERFLY Thymelicus sylvestris (m)
·
There
is every likelihood that when a Small Skipper Butterfly Thymelicus
sylvestris is observed that it will be perched on something more
colourful than itself as this species has a penchant for visiting flowers.
Fresh specimens (as shown above) are bright orange and the males possess long,
characteristically shaped sex-brands of black scales on their forewings (see
final photograph). The shape of the brand is important when making any
comparison with the two other small ‘golden’ British Skippers, the Essex
Skipper Butterfly T. lineola and
the Lulworth Skipper Butterfly T. acteon,
although the range of the latter 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 the antennae clearly, or to be in possession of some sort of
magnification). The tips of the antennae of the Small Skipper when viewed from
below are orange and those of the otherwise similar Essex Skipper are black.
The photographs on this page show the antennae from above (where there are some
black scales) and below, and the Essex 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!
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