I’ve blogged about this before but, as it’s the skipper time of year and there are quite a few newbies following along here, I thought I’d do a repeat post. For anyone who finds the little skippers confusing, I hope this helps you. The first two photos illustrate the differences in the length and angle of the male scent brands on the upper wings of the Small and Essex skippers.

Small skipper on the left, Essex skipper on the right

And the two photos below show the differences in the colour of their antenna tips viewed head on, orange on the Small skipper and black on the Essex.

Small skipper on the left, Essex skipper on the right