Identify It > Butterflies Section > Small Skippers Butterflies >
Scientific name: Thymelicus sylvestris
Size: Wingspan approx 30mm
Distribution: Found throughout England and Wales
Months seen: June to September
Habitat: Meadows, roadside verges and gardens
Food: Nectar. The caterpillars feed on various grasses
Special features: The small skipper is a uniform orange-brown all over, but the males have a dark stripe running across their forewings. The club shaped ends of the antennae are black on top, and orange-yellow underneath.
Like the Large Skipper, the small skipper rests with its forewings and hindwings held apart at different angles, looking more like a moth than a butterfly.
The female lays her cream coloured eggs, in a row, inside a curled up grass stem. When the caterpillars emerge (around August) they eat their eggshell, and then spin a cocoon, while still inside the grass stem.
They remain inside the grass stem for a further eight months. The following spring, they re-emerge to feed on the fresh grass. By June or July, they will be fully grown caterpillars, and will pupate at the base of a grass stem. After about two weeks the adult butterflies will emerge.
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