The Essex Skipper is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Hesperiidae family. In North America, it is known as the European Skipper.

With a wingspan of 2.5 to 2.9 cm it is very similar in appearance to the Small Skipper

Small Skipper

The Small Skipper Thymelicus sylvestris butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.-Appearance, behaviour and distribution:It has a rusty orange colour to the wings, upper body and the tips of the antennae. The body is silvery white below and it has a wingspan of 25–30 mm. This butterfly is very...

 Thymelicus sylvestris. They can be told apart by the undersides of the tips of the antennae: the Essex skipper's are black whereas those of the Small Skipper are orange. This butterfly occurs throughout much of the Palaearctic region. Its range spreads from southern Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

 through Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 to North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

 and east to Central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 It was only identified in the UK in 1889 and its range is expanding both in England and in northern Europe. In North America, this butterfly was accidentally introduced in 1910 via London, Ontario

London, Ontario

London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...

 and has spread across southern Canada and to several northern US states.

Life cycle

Eggs are laid in strings on the stems of grass

Grass

Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...

es where they remain over the winter. The favoured foodplant is Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata) and it rarely uses the Small Skipper's favoured foodplant Yorkshire Fog

Yorkshire Fog

Yorkshire Fog or Velvet Grass, Holcus lanatus, is a perennial grass in the Poaceae Family. 'Lanatus' is latin for 'wooly' which describes the plant's hairy texture....

. Other choices include Creeping Soft Grass

Creeping Soft Grass

Creeping Soft Grass or Creeping Velvet Grass. Holcus mollis, is a species of grass, native to Europe and western Asia.- Characteristics :...

 (Holcus mollis), Couch Grass (Elymus repens), Timothy-grass

Timothy-grass

Timothy-grass , is an abundant perennial grass native to most of Europe except for the Mediterranean region. It grows to 50–150 cm tall, with leaves up to 45 cm long and 1 cm broad. The flowerhead is 7–15 cm long and 8–10 mm broad, with densely packed spikelets...

 (Phleum pratense), Meadow Foxtail

Meadow Foxtail

Alopecurus pratensis, known as the Meadow Foxtail or the Field Meadow Foxtail, is a perennial grass, belonging to the grass family . It is native to Europe and Asia....

 (Alopecurus pratensis), False Brome

False Brome

-Introduction:False Brome, Slender False Brome or Wood False Brome, Brachypodium sylvaticum, is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia and north Africa....

 (Brachypodium sylvaticum) and Tor-grass

Tor-grass

Tor-grass is a plant in the grass family, with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches 70–120 cm tall. The flowerhead is open, with 10 to 15 erect spikelets.The caterpillars of some Lepidoptera use it...

 (Brachypodium pinnatum). The caterpillar

Caterpillar

Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

s emerge in the spring and feed until June before forming shelters from leaves tied with silk at the base of the foodplant to pupate. The adult flies from July to August. Like most skippers, they are fairly strictly diurnal, though individuals are very rarely encountered during the night.

External links

• European Skipper page from Butterflies and Moths of North America including a USA distribution map.
• Essex Skipper page from Butterfly Conservation.org.
• Essex Skipper page from www.ukbutterflies.co.uk.

See also

• List of butterflies of Great Britain