Butterflies of
Britain & Europe
Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family - HESPERIIDAE
subfamily - PYRGINAE
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages, copulating pair,
Dorset, England |
Introduction
Despite
it's rather unflattering vernacular name, this is a lovely insect, worthy of
much greater attention than it generally attracts. Old faded butterflies
may indeed be a little dingy, but a freshly emerged Dingy Skipper shows itself
to be beautifully marked in subtle shades of brown and grey.
The
butterfly is quite variable in appearance, populations in woodlands tending to
be darker and more strongly marked, compared with the pallid specimens which
predominate on chalk landslips, quarries and limestone pavements.
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Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages, male, Noar Hill, Hampshire,
England |
It
is distributed throughout most of Europe but is absent from northern
Scandinavia and most of the Mediterranean islands. There are several other members of the genus found in temperate
Asia, North America, and the Andes.
There are no similar species in Britain, but in Turkey, Greece and Albania the
butterfly shares it's habitats and emergence time with a similar species Erynnis marloyi.
The latter is distinguished by being darker and much plainer than
tages.
Habitats
The
Dingy Skipper
is localised throughout England and Wales,
preferring well drained, lightly grazed
dry
grassy habitats where the larval foodplant bird's
foot trefoil grows in profusion.
It
favours
a warm sunny
environment
with small but profuse patches of bare ground such as those created by cattle
poaching or by the erosion of small coombes.
Typical habitats
include
calcareous grassland slopes, undercliffs, coastal landslips, dunes, abandoned quarries,
grassy heaths, railway cuttings, spoil heaps,
limestone pavements, and
woodland clearings.
In
Scotland and northern England it is primarily a coastal species, breeding on
cliff-tops, shingle banks and sand dunes.
Most colonies are small and
very localised - a typical colony will comprise of between 30-50 adults,
although the numbers seen on any particular day are usually much lower. The
largest known colony, on a stretch of undercliff in Dorset, probably holds about
200-300 adults at peak season.
Lifecycle
The butterflies are normally single brooded in Britain, emerging in May,
although at the warmest sites in southern England there may occasionally be a
partial second brood in late July or early August. In southern
Europe there is usually a partial or complete second brood emergence in July.
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In 2007, a very hot and early spring was followed by the
dullest and wettest British summer for 280 years. It might
be expected that under such conditions the 2nd brood
would be at best partial, or fail to materialise at all.
However an almost complete 2nd brood emergence occurred at
Ballard Down in Dorset in late July. Dingy Skipper larvae are nocturnal feeders,
and in overcast weather night time temperatures are higher,
so they were able to develop quickly and produce a second
generation of adults. |
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Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages, female at roost,
Butser Hill, Hampshire, England |
The
strongly ribbed eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of leaflets of bird's
foot trefoil
Lotus corniculatus, or less commonly on greater bird's
foot trefoil
L.
uliginosus. At certain sites such as Ballard Down in Dorset,
horseshoe vetch
Hippocrepis comosa
is chosen
in preference over bird's foot trefoil.
The eggs are pale yellowish-green when first laid but turn bright orange after 4
days, and hatch about 12 days after being laid.
During
daylight hours the larva lives within a loose tent of leaves spun together at
the base of the foodplant, and emerges to feed more openly in the early evening.
When fully grown it is yellowish green, faintly marked with a
dark line along the back, and pale lines along the sides. The head is brown,
with dark purplish-black markings.
By early August
the larva is almost fully grown, and at this point it enters hibernation, over-wintering
within a thin silk tent. It
remains inside this hibernaculum until April, when it pupates.
Gently
pulling apart the silk tent reveals the shiny pupa, which has dark green wing
cases and a brown abdomen.
Adult behaviour
On warm but overcast days in
late April and
May, the butterflies bask with wings
held flat, on bare soil, stones or low herbage.
In sunny
conditions they are very active, zipping
and whirring
about,
usually no
more than a few inches above the ground;
stopping occasionally to
bask for a moment or two on a grass head, or to nectar at their
favourite wild flowers - bird's
foot trefoil,
common vetch,
horseshoe vetch, buttercups,
ground ivy, cranesbills,
speedwells and
bugle.
Dingy Skippers
generally hold the wings flat when nectaring, but in warm weather
they raise them at an angle of about 45 degrees, or sometimes if
very warm they hold the wings erect.
Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages, male perching, Bentley
Wood, Hampshire
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In April 2007 at Ballard Down, I spent several
minutes studying 3 male Dingy Skippers whose territories
overlapped. All passing butterflies were intercepted - Clouded
Yellows and Peacocks were quickly investigated but not challenged. Small Coppers
however were challenged and quickly ousted from the
vicinity.
When any of the male Dingy Skippers encountered each
other a sortie took place, with both butterflies whirling about in
tight circles close to the ground, occasionally making physical
contact. After about a minute, the pair would suddenly rocket
skyward to a height of about 3 metres, at which point the
"intruding" male would be chased off, and the "owner" of
the territory would return to continue search of females.
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Copulation takes place mid-morning, often at a sheltered spot at
the base of a hill. During copulation both sexes
often spread their wings flat, and it is then easy to spot the
differences between them - males are
duller and more unicolorous, with a pronounced fold on the
leading edge of the forewings. This fold has special
wing-scales called androconia that
disseminate
pheromones,
and are
used to lure females during courtship.
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Dingy
Skipper
Erynnis tages, female at roost on
knapweed, Noar Hill, Hampshire |
As evening approaches, Dingy Skippers migrate to the last
remaining sunlit spots in their habitat. There they settle to bask
on grass
heads, or
more often
on the dead flower
heads of knapweeds
or St Johns wort.
As
the temperature drops, and
the last rays of sunshine fade, they adjust their position,
wrapping their wings tightly around the flower
heads,
upon which they
roost overnight.
During extended periods of inclement
weather, Dingy Skippers can aestivate for long periods - on
14th May 2006 I found a pristine and distinctively marked
female, roosting at dusk on a dead knapweed flower head at Noar Hill
in Hampshire. That night the weather suddenly deteriorated, and it
remained wet and windy for the next 2 weeks. I
returned on 27th May and was surprised to find the butterfly still
alive, and still at roost on the same
flower
head,
from which it had been unable to move in the intervening period.
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