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Hertfordshire & Middlesex Branch

Saving butterflies, moths and our environment



Skipper family - Herts & Middx Butterfly Conservation

The Hesperiidae family


For help identifying 'Skippers'

Dingy Skipper
Erynnis tages
Restricted & rare resident
Dingy Skipper (m) 2006 - Andrew Palmer
Male
Hexton
© Andrew Palmer 2006
Dingy Skippers 2007 - Tim Hill
Female
Hexton
© Dee Cullen 24 Apr 2019
Dingy Skipper 2019 - Andrew Neild
Underside
Hexton
© Andrew Neild 22 Apr 2019
Dingy Skippers 2007 - Tim Hill
Mating pair
Hexton
© Chris Beach 2011
Dingy Skipper 2005 - Andrew Middleton
Roosting on flower head
© Andrew Middleton 2005
Dingy Skipper egg 2005 - Andrew Palmer
Empty egg shell on Birds-foot Trefoil
Telegraph Hill
© Andrew Palmer 2005

Grizzled Skipper
Pyrgus malvae
Restricted & rare resident
Grizzled Skipper (m) 2011 - Miles Attenborough
Male
Aldbury Nowers
© Miles Attenborough 2011
Grizzled Skipper (f) 30 Apr 2019 - Chris Benton
Female
Waterford Heath
© Chris Benton 30 Apr 2019
Grizzled Skipper 2006 - Richard Bigg
Underside
Waterford Heath
© Richard Bigg 2011
Grizzled Skippers 2018 - Trevor Chapman
Mating pair
Frogmore Gravel Pit
© Trevor Chapman 11 May 2018
Grizzled Skipper 2009 - Andrew Middleton
Early morning
Waterford Heath
© Andrew Middleton 2009
Grizzled Skipper egg 2006 - Andrew Middleton
Egg on low-lying bramble
© Andrew Middleton 2006
Grizzled Skipper egg 2018 - Andrew Wood
Eggs on Common Agrimony
Waterford Heath
© Andrew Wood 23 May 2018

Chequered Skipper
Carterocephalus palaemon
Non-resident
Chequered Skipper 2005 - Steve Lane
Male
Scotland
© Steve Lane 2005
Chequered Skipper 2004 - Nick Sampford
Male
Scotland
© Nick Sampford 2004

Essex Skipper
Thymelicus lineola
Widespread
Essex Skipper (m) 15Jul16 - Peter Clarke
Male
Fairlands Valley Park
© Peter Clarke 15 Jul 2016
Essex Skipper (f) 07Jul19 - Dave Miller
Female
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 7 Jul 2019
Essex Skipper 07Jul19 - Dave Miller
Underside
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 7 Jul 2019
Essex Skipper 15Aug19 - Andrew Wood
Antennae
Panshanger Park
© Andrew Wood 15 Aug 2019
Essex Skipper 03Jul19 - Dave Miller
Antennae
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 3 Jul 2019
Essex Skipper pair 15Jul19 - Bob Clift
Pair
Bishop's Stortford Southern Country Park
© Bob Clift 15 Jul 2019

Small Skipper
Thymelicus sylvestris
Widespread but declining
Small Skipper (m) 13Jun17 - Dave Miller
Male
By the River Colne
© Dave Miller 13 Jun 2017
Small Skipper (f) 28Jun16 - Bob Clift
Female
Bishop's Stortford Southern Country Park
© Bob Clift 28 Jun 2016
Small Skipper 30Jun19 - Dave Miller
Female Underside
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 30 Jun 2019
Small Skipper 2010 - Dave Miller
Underside & antennae
Harmondsworth Moor
© Dave Miller 2010
Small Skipper 2003 - Trevor Chapman
Antennae
© Trevor Chapman 2003
Small Skippers 2004 - Sandra Standbridge
Mating pair
© Sandra Standbridge 2004
Small Skippers 2018 - Peter Clarke
Aberration
Norton Green Common
© Peter Clarke 23 Jul 2018
Small Skipper egg-laying 2019 - Peter Clarke
Egg-laying on Yorkshire Fog
Norton Green Common
© Peter Clarke 16 Jul 2019

Lulworth Skipper
Thymelicus acteon
Non-resident
Lulworth Skipper 2007 - Darin Stanley
Female & antennae
Dorset
© Darin Stanley 2007
Lulworth Skipper 2001 ~ Nick Sampford
Female
Swanage area
© Nick Sampford 2001
Lulworth Skipper 2004 ~ Lee Browne
Female
Dorset
© Lee Browne 2004

Silver-spotted Skipper
Hesperia comma
Once resident - now extinct
Silver-Spotted Skipper 2001 ~ Nick Sampford
Female & antennae
© Nick Sampford
Silver-spotted Skipper 2004 - Sandra Standbridge
Female
© Sandra Standbridge
Silver-spotted Skipper 2007 - Darin Stanley
Male (on left) & Female undersides
© Darin Stanley
Silver-spotted Skipper 2016 - Nick Bowles
Nectaring on buddleia & antennae
Tring garden
© Nick Bowles 27 Aug 2016

Silver-spotted Skipper was last recorded in Hertfordshire in 1959. However, the population in the Chilterns has been strengthening over the past 20 years, and the range in the Upper Thames Branch region has extended northeast. In 2016 one was reported (with photograph) from a garden in Tring

Large Skipper
Ochlodes sylvanus
Widespread but recently declining
Large Skipper (m) 2018 - Peter Clarke
Male
Fairlands Valley Park
© Peter Clarke 10 Jun 2018
Large Skipper (f) 2019 - Peter Clarke
Female
Watery Grove
© Peter Clarke 18 Jun 2019
Large Skipper 12Jun19 - Dave Miller
Male underside
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 12 Jun 2019
Large Skipper 16Jun19 - Dave Miller
Female underside
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 16 Jun 2019
Large Skipper 12Jun19 - Dave Miller
Head-on
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 12 Jun 2019
Large Skipper pair 1Jun19 - Dave Miller
Mating pair
Stanwell Moor
© Dave Miller 1 Jun 2019
Large Skipper ab. pallida 2003 - Sandra Standbridge
ab. pallida
Hertford Heath
© Sandra Standbridge 2003

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