Family Hesperiidae - Skippers

Popularly listed as butterflies as they have clubbed antennae and fly by day, but not closely related to other butterfly families. Wings are rested swept back, not held vertically.

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Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Thymelicus sylvestris Thymelicus sylvestris
  • Cambridge, old St Ives Railway TL463614, 14-19 Jul 2002.
  • BF1526.
  • Similar to Essex Skipper T. lineola, in this species the under-forewings have buff tips.
  • Larvae feed on grasses, adults on various flowers, here common knapweed Senecio jacobaea.

Large Skipper Ochlodes venata (Bremer & Grey, 1853)

Ochlodes venata
  • Cambridge, old St Ives Railway TL462615, 11 Jul 2002.
  • BF1531.
  • A male, with dark patch of scent scales on the forewings
  • Larvae live on grass blades pulled into tubes with silk.
  • European Large Skippers have generally been counted as a sub-species Ochlodes venata faunus (Turati, 1905), the nominal O. v. venata being confined to Eastern Asia. Some authorities reckon it as a full species Ochlodes faunus.

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