Small or Essex?

11 Monday Jul 2022

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British butterflies, butterfly, differences between Small and Essex skippers, Essex skipper, Essex skipper identification, Small skipper, Small skipper identification

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

Skippers, small but few

27 Monday Jun 2022

Posted by sconzani in insects

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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

Two’s company

12 Monday Jul 2021

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British butterflies, mating butterflies, Small skipper, Small skippers mating

Two Small skippers are enjoying an intimate moment when …

210712 small skippers (1)

A third Small skipper, a male, tries to gatecrash the party.

But, you know the old saying, ‘Two’s company; three’s a crowd’. After energetically trying to intervene, number three gives up and flies off to find a female of his own.

210712 small skippers (4)

168/366 Ringlets and a Small skipper

16 Tuesday Jun 2020

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British butterflies, butterfly, Ringlet, Small skipper

Yesterday was a day of two firsts, my first sightings of (several) Ringlet butterflies for this year (and at two different locations), and my first gorgeous Small skipper as well. Here they are …

200616 ringlet (1) 200616 small skipper (2)

189/365 ‘A confetti of scent scales’

08 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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androconial scales, British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly anatomy, butterfly courtship, Large skipper, pheromones, sex brands, Silver-washed fritillary, Small skipper

The observant among you may have noticed silvery looking lines on the veins of the Silver-washed fritillary in yesterday’s post – those are its sex brands. In these particular frits, the males have four such brands, two on each top upper wing. The brands contain androconial scales, special scented scales that are used during courtship to attract females. As the Woodland Trust website explains, Silver-washed fritillary ‘courtship is an aerobatic spectacular: the female flies in a straight line while the male loops the loop around her, before showering her in a confetti of scent scales’.

190708 silver-washed fritillary

Silver-washed fritillaries are not the only butterflies to have sex brands: they can also be found, for example, in Large and Small skippers (below left and right, respectively). The Learn about Butterflies website (which has a much more detailed explanation for those who are interested in the nitty gritty of butterfly anatomy) explains, the dark diagonal marks on the skippers’ wings

are composed of hundreds of androconial scales. These disseminate pheromones that can be detected by females during courtship. As the male ages the strength of his pheromones diminishes, thus by analysing the strength of the pheromones a female can assess the age and virility of a potential mate.

The more I find out about butterflies, the more fascinated I become.

Aberbargoed Grasslands revisited

06 Friday Jul 2018

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Aberbargoed Grasslands, British butterflies, British moths, Burnet companion, butterflies, Common purple & gold, Large skipper, moths, Riband wave, Ringlet, Silver Y, Small heath, Small skipper

On Wednesday I made my second visit to Aberbargoed Grasslands National Nature Reserve with my friend Sharon. Last time we dipped on seeing the Marsh fritillaries because it was too overcast; this time, we dipped again because the recent spell of hot dry weather has meant their season has finished for the year. Still, we have now walked most of the paths around the reserve so we’ll know exactly where to look next year. And, though we missed out the fritillaries, there were still plenty of other butterflies and moths to charm and delight us.

Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)

Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus)

Small skipper (Lycaena phlaeas)

Large skipper (Lycaena dispar)

Burnet companion (Euclidia glyphica)

Common purple & gold (Pyraustra purpuralis)

Riband wave (Idaea aversata)

Silver Y (Autographa gamma)

Leptastic!

25 Monday Jun 2018

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#30DaysWild, 30 Days Wild, British butterflies, British moths, butterflies, Common blue, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, moths, Pyrausta purpuralis, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

Day 25 of #30DaysWild was hot – the hottest day of the year so far in Wales! I’m not a huge fan of the heat or the burning sun – one of the reasons I moved to Britain was to escape them, but the climate is a’changing. The only good thing about sunshine is that it brings out the Lepidoptera, the butterflies and moths, though even they looked a bit frantic, as if the heat was making them crazy. Still, on my Penarth – Lavernock – Cosmeston – Penarth circuit, I did manage to see my first Small skipper for the year and a host of other fantastic Leps as well.

Six-spot burnet moth

Common blue

Large skipper

Meadow brown

Pyrausta purpuralis moth

Ringlet

Small skipper

Small white

Speckled wood

A 10 lepidoptera day!

12 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, Comma, Common blue, Gatekeeper, Large skipper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Six-spot burnet, Small skipper, Small white, Speckled wood

It’s Monday. I’ve had a meeting about a forthcoming fungi presentation, followed by a busy morning on the computer and feel I need a blast of fresh air so decide to do one of my local walk circuits, taking in one side of Cardiff Bay and Penarth Marina. And I’m so glad I do ’cause the air is alive with butterflies and moths. They are common enough species but I am amazed and delighted to see such a variety and so many in just a 2-hour walk.

There are Comma (Polygonia c-album), Common blue (Polyommatus icarus), Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), Ringlet (Aphantopus hyperantus), Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris), Small white (Pieris rapae), and Speckled wood (Pararge aegeri). This is my idea of heaven!

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Aye, aye, skipper!

05 Tuesday Jul 2016

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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butterflies, butterfly, Large skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus, Small skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris

A couple of weeks ago I posted about several recent butterfly sightings, including one of the Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus). Today we have my first 2016 sighting of a Small skipper (a completely separate species, Thymelicus sylvestris), which I was lucky enough to see and photograph at the cemetery last Sunday. It’s often difficult to tell the Large (below, left) and Small (below, right) apart when they’re flying but, in these photos, you can clearly see the differences in the markings on their upper wings. The colours of both skippers remind me of golden amber, especially when the sunshine touches them.

Apparently, the Small skipper’s eggs usually hatch in late summer, after which the wee caterpillars overwinter within the grass stalk where their eggs were originally laid. Come spring, they spin themselves a little grass shelter that helps protect them from predators, initially only popping out at night to feed but emerging more often during the day as they grow larger. They pupate in May and June, before appearing, often in large numbers, as beautiful butterflies in July. My Small skipper was true to form, basking on grass in the warm sunshine, allowing me to get lots of lovely photos.

160705 Small skipper (3) 160705 Small skipper (2)