(Ochsenheimer, 1808)
Essex Skipper
Description:
The Essex Skipper occurs in many sorts of flower-rich places with tall grass, such as grasslands, road verges and on banks of streams. Sometimes, the populations are very large. It is often seen with the Small Skipper (T. sylvestris). Although very similar, these golden skippers can be distinguished by the colour of the underside of their antennal clubs. That of the Essex Skipper is black and that of the Small Skipper varies from brown to yellow. Because these butterflies need quite a lot of nectar, they can often be seen drinking on thistles, knapweeds and other purple or pink flowers rich in nectar.
The female deposits her eggs in groups in the leaf-sheaths of coarse grasses, and lays them when the food plants are already withered. It is the eggs that hibernate. The development of the caterpillar takes place the following spring. At first, the caterpillar only feeds during the day, but later also at night. They pupate in the vegetation. The chrysalis may be suspended from a grass blade by a silken girdle, but also just by the tip.
The Essex Skipper is single-brooded.
Habitat:
Fallow land and waste places
Dry siliceous grasslands
Mesophile grasslands
Similar species:
Thymelicus sylvestris
Thymelicus acteon
Thymelicus hyrax