Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus malvae)
Family: Hesperiidae
Subfamily: Pyrginae
Genus: Pyrgus
Species: malvae
Key ID Features:
Small and distinctly chequered with clear white markings on all wings.
Similarly patterned on upper and lowerparts.
The smaller male is slightly less black and hairier than the female.
Often seen basking on the ground but active and elusive in flight.
Seen in UK: April-August
Like most skippers, the Grizzled Skipper is extremely difficult to follow when in flight, but will stop to feed from various nectar sources. Once settled, the black and white pattern on the wings, from which this species gets its name, is unmistakable. The butterfly occurs in small colonies of less than 100 adults. A well-known aberration of this species, ab. taras, has all of the white spots on the forewings joined, forming a large white blotch. This butterfly is found in England south of a line extended from West Gloucestershire in the west to North Lincolnshire in the east, with strongholds in central and southern England.
Text (c) UK Butterflies, used with permission
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Location: Salisbury Plain
Photographer: Tim Tapley
