| Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)) |
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Scientific name: Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761) Common name: Small Skipper French name: Hespérie de la houque, Bande noire. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Hesperiidae Subfamily: Hesperiinae Wingspan: 26-30 mm. Biotope: Meadow with tall grass and flowers, hills up to 1800 m. Geographic area: Europe, East to the Ural, missing in Scandinavia and Scotland. North Africa. Flight time: June to August. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: Green with a darker back and yellow stripes on each side. Host plant: Mainly Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus) but also other grasses like Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata), Timothy (Phleum pratense) or Meadow Foxtail (Alopecurus pratensis). |
The underside of the antenna tip is an orange colour. The upper side of the wings is tawny orange with a darker outer margin. There is a black curved line in the middle of the forewing. There is a possible confusion with the Essex skipper (Thymelicus lineola) - black antenna tips. The Small Skipper overwinters as newly-hatched caterpillar inside a small cocoon. |
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Top view of a Small Skipper. Moving blur has been avoided by using lenses with an image stabilization system. |
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I have observed many Small Skippers on this unimproved grassland. |
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There is possible confusion with the Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola). |
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I am also used to observing many Large Skippers (Ochlodes venatus) at this place. The Small Skipper (as mentioned by its common name) is a smaller size. |
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It is not very easy to get a nice uniform background colour on pictures shot among high grasses. |
André Bon June 2009