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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of Britain & Europe
 
Small Skipper
Thymelicus sylvestris PODA, 1761
Family - HESPERIIDAE
subfamily - HESPERIINAE
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, male, Stansted Forest, West Sussex, England
 
Introduction
 
The Small Skipper is a very common species occurring throughout most of Europe, but is absent from Scotland, Ireland, Scandinavia, and most Mediterranean islands. It's range extends to include Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, the Middle East, Iran, and eastward to the Black Sea.
 
Within Europe it can very easily be confused with the Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola, but can be separated from that species by the following points :
 
lineola : The band of dark androconial scales on the forewings of the male is very thin, and runs parallel to the costa. The tips of the underside of the antennae are jet black.
 
sylvestris : The band of androconial scales on the male's forewings runs diagonally, as illustrated above. The tips of the underside of the antennae of sylvestris can be either pale orange or dark reddish.
 
Comparison photos of both species are shown on the lineola page.
 
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, female, Stansted Forest, West Sussex, England
 
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, male, Stansted Forest, West Sussex, England
 
The simplest way to determine which of the above 2 species are present at a site is to visit just before dusk, when the butterflies will be sitting quietly on grass stems. The undersides of the antennae can then easily be examined without resorting to capturing the insects.
 
Note : It is also possible to confuse this species with T. hamza, which is more dusky in colour, and found only in north Africa; and with T. hyrax, which is slightly larger, more olive in colour, and found only in Greece, Turkey, and the Middle East.
 
Habitats
 
In Britain the butterfly is widely distributed, but it's range does not extend into the north of England, Scotland or Ireland.
 
The larval foodplant is the grass Yorkshire fog, and the butterfly breeds almost anywhere where this species grows, particularly in places where it is ungrazed and allowed to grow tall. Thus it occurs in woodland rides, on chalk and limestone grassland, on heaths and moors, around field edges, and along hedgerows and railway cuttings.
 
It quickly colonises new habitats, so small colonies often occur along road verges, motorway embankments, and on abandoned or set-aside farmland.
 
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, male, Bentley Wood, Wiltshire, England
 
Lifecycle
 
The adults emerge in July, and lay their eggs in groups of 4 or 5, placed in a row within the sheath of stems of grass, nearly always Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus, although Phleum pratense and Brachypodium sylvaticum are also occasionally used.
 
The caterpillars hatch after about 12 days, and immediately consume their eggshells, but then spin tiny cocoons inside the grass sheaths, within which they hibernate until March or April of the following year.
 
In the spring they disperse and live solitarily, resting inside shelters constructed by rolling grass blades into tubes which are held together by a few strands of silk. On dry days they leave the tubes to feed on nearby leaves, on which they leave characteristic wedge-shaped feeding notches. The fully grown larvae are pale green with darker stripes along the back, and rest openly on grass blades.
 
The chrysalis, which is green and shiny, with pink palpi projecting from the head, is formed within a flimsy net-like cocoon amongst tufts of grass.
 
Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, male, Stockbridge Down, Hampshire, England
 
Adult behaviour

 

The adults are active in sunshine, and have a rapid buzzing flight, "skipping" from flower to flower. Favoured nectar sources include clovers, bird's foot trefoil, vetches, thistles, knapweeds and ox-eye daisies.

 

In weak or hazy sunshine they often sit on grass blades or stems, basking with their wings held in the characteristic Hesperiine position. In dry weather they remain on the grass stems overnight, roosting communally, but during wet spells they hide deep in tussocks.

 

Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris, female, Stansted Forest, West Sussex, England

 
                                                       
Almost every British and European species of butterfly is declining rapidly in numbers, due in most cases to loss or degradation of habitats.
 
You can help to reverse the decline by supporting conservation organisations which purchase and manage habitats as nature reserves, and which lobby government at local, national and international levels, often very successfully, to bring about changes in farming, forestry and urban development policies.
 
Please contact the conservation organisations for advice on how you can help protect British and European butterflies and their habitats. You may be able to offer practical help e.g. by monitoring butterfly populations or helping to manage nature reserves. Donations to these organisations enable them to employ ecologists and biologists. Even if you are unable to provide such help, merely having your name on the membership list can be a powerful tool for conservation organisations wishing to demonstrate the levels of support they have for their policies.

 

 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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