Skippers

Skippers are small fast flyers, their darting flight pattern giving them their name. Skippers belong to the family Hesperiidae and are taken by some authorities to be an intermediate form between moths and butterflies. This is understandable as skippers do superficially resemble moths but the majority of their characteristics are those of butterflies.

   Large Skipper Ochlodes venata

   Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae

   Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages

Large Skipper Ochlodes venata

Both sexes are brownish orange with brown veins. The undersides are a paler version of the uppersides.

There is a single brood. They overwinter as caterpillars. The foodplants are grasses.

Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages

This is a rather drab brownish butterfly with white spots. The underside is similarly patterned as the upperside, but lighter in colour.

There is a single brood. They overwinter as caterpillars. The foodplants are trefoils.

Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae

This is a drab brown butterfly that is decorated with white spots on the fringes of the upperwings. The underwings have a similar pattern to the upperwings but lighter with larger white patches.

There are two broods in good years. They overwinter as caterpillars. The foodplants include strawberry leaves and bramble.