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Tag Archives: skipper butterflies

Skippers, small but few

27 Monday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, skipper butterflies, skipper populations, Small skipper

First spotted locally on 15 June, Small skippers are now appearing in greater quantities though, from my observations, both Large and Small skipper numbers are well down on recent years. This may well be climate related but it’s also environmental. In two of the local areas I have previously seen skippers in abundance, humans have been tinkering. In one case, the edges of a field were cut back much more than in previous years, with grassy edges cut to the dirt and the scrub- and bramble-edged hedgerows heavily flailed. And in the other location, an old meadow, the long grasses were cut but the trimmings left to rot, a community orchard was planted where wildflowers and waxcap fungi previously thrived and, once again, the bramble-and-scrub edges have recently been decimated, despite this being bird-nesting season The good news is that I’ve found another good skipper field though, unfortunately, it has been earmarked for a housing development by the Welsh government (though locals are fighting to preserve their green fields). I fear for our butterflies, such vulnerable little creatures in an increasingly hostile world.

220627 small skipper

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50 shades of brown

28 Thursday Apr 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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Tags

British butterflies, butterfly, Dingy Skipper, Erynnis tages, skipper butterflies, Skippers

The latest butterfly species in my locale to flit up and say ‘Look at me’ is the Dingy skipper and, for all its supposedly dingy appearance, it’s a little cracker, a subtle blending of 50 shades of brown. And it seems to me that all the skipper species have attitude; they punch above their weight in terms of stroppiness, defending their territory with a tenacity that belies their diminutive size. Welcome back, little skippers!

220428 dingy skipper

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A Dingy surprise

24 Saturday Apr 2021

Posted by sconzani in insects, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

British butterflies, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Dingy Skipper, early emergence of Dingy skipper, skipper butterflies, spring butterflies

Well, this was a surprise! My first Dingy skipper of 2021 flitted up from the ground as I walked a path at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park yesterday, settled briefly nearby, then floated off and promptly disappeared. Luckily, I managed to fire off a couple of quick shots, and I think these show how easily this little butterfly can ‘disappear’ in the landscape – it’s incredibly well camouflaged.

210424 dingy skipper

In my five and a half years in Britain, this is the earliest I’ve seen a Dingy skipper by at least a week, and my average first sighting has been a little later still, around the tenth of May. I presume our recent warm dry weather has led to these butterflies emerging earlier than usual, though the lack of rain could be an issue for them as the ground is very dry and the usual flush of spring wildflower growth delayed.

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About me

sconzani

sconzani

I'm a writer and photographer; researcher and blogger; birder and nature lover; countryside rambler and city strider; volunteer and biodiversity recorder.

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