(Rambur, 1839)
Dusky Grizzled Skipper
Description:
Damp grassland, at the edge of bogs or streams, is the habitat of the Dusky Grizzled Skipper, although they sometimes occur on dry grasslands, and are at their most numerous on grasslands near the tree-line. They are quite mobile butterflies, and are therefore often seen outside their habitat. The male show marked territorial behaviour. Surveying his territory from a perch, a tall tree usually serving as a lookout, he drives away butterfly pass by. Any other male Dusky Grizzled Skipper is pursued for tens of metres before the chase is given up and the male returns home.
The female lays her eggs on various species of cinquefoil (Potentilla spp.), such as Tormentil (P. erecta), and Alpine Cinquefoil (P. crantzii), and also on Sibbaldia species. She prefers plants growing on drier places, such as on hummocks in damp habitats, or at a little distance from its habitat. The caterpillars live hidden between spun leaves, and it is in this stage that the Dusky Grizzled Skipper hibernates.
It is single-brooded.
Habitat:
Alpine grasslands
Similar species:
Pyrgus andromedae
Pyrgus centaureae