Dingy Skipper
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| Erynnis tages (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.
Appearance, behaviour and distribution
This well camouflaged, brown and grey butterfly can be confused with the Grizzled Skipper, the Mother Shipton Moth or the Burnet Companion Moth. It is probably the most moth like British Butterfly and normally rests with its wings in a moth like fashion. It is widely but patchily distributed across Britain. It occurs further north than any other Skipper in Scotland with some isolated colonies in the Inverness region. It is also the only Skipper to be found in Ireland, again with a patchy distribution but the main strongholds along the western side. A variety of habitats are used including Chalk downland, Woodland clearings, coastal dunes, railway lines and even waste ground. It is widespread in Europe, east to Asia and China, though it is on the decline in several European countries including the UK.
Life cycle and foodplants
The eggs are laid singly on the tender young leaves of Bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus corniculatus, the favoured foodplant (although Horseshoe-vetch Hippocrepis comosa and Greater Bird's-foot-trefoil Lotus pendunculatus are sometimes used). The caterpillar creates a shelter by spinning leaves together and feeds until fully grown in August. It then creates a larger tent to form a hibernaculum where it hibernates. Pupation occurs the following spring without further feeding. Adults are on the wing from mid-May till Mid-June.
References and external links
- Dingy Skipper page from Butterfly Conservation
- Dingy Skipper page from the UK Butterflies site
- Dingy Skipper page from Lepidoptera of Norway
- Jim Asher et al The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland Oxford University Press
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