| Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus (Esper, 1777)) |
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Scientific name: Ochlodes sylvanus (Esper, 1777) Common name: Large Skipper French name: Sylvaine Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Hesperiidae Subfamily: Hesperiinae Wingspan: 30-35 mm. Biotope: Meadows, road sides and gardens. Geographic area: Europe except Ireland, Scotland, northern Scandinavia, Corsica and Sardinia. Temperate Asia. Flight time: June to August. Number of generations : 1 (2 in the South). Caterpillar: Green with a yellow line underlined by black spots on each side. Host plant: Many Gramineae including Cocksfoot Grass (Dactylis glomerata) and Greater Wood Rush (Luzula sylvatica). |
The upper side of the large Skipper's wings is dark orange with greyish-brown edges, black veins and a few small paler spots. The upper side of the males' fore wings bears a broad black androconial band. The under side of the wings shows barely visible paler greyish marks. Skippers of the Thymelicus genus do not show any spots on the underside of he wings. The Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma) shows very sharp white spots. |
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I had a doubt about the identification of this butterfly, Large Skipper or Silver Spotted Skipper? I have been able to identify the Large Skipper by looking at the under side of the wings showing barely visible marks. |
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Here is a Large Skipper gathering nectar. |
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The 300mm lenses enable to take pictures of butterflies at distances of more than one meter. This prevents to have them fly away when we you get close. |
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I mainly observe Large Skippers on woodland edges. The well visible androconial band indicates one male. |
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No androconial band here, this one is a female. |
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Upper side view. |
André Bon February 2019