Essex skipper

Essex skipper or
European skipper
male and female

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Thymelicus
Species:
T. lineola
Binomial name
Thymelicus lineola
(Ochsenheimer, 1808)

Thymelicus lineola, known in Europe as the Essex skipper and in North America as the European skipper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.

With a wingspan of 2.5 to 2.9 cm, it is very similar in appearance to the small skipper, Thymelicus sylvestris. They can be told apart by the forward-facing flattish part of the antenna tip: in the Essex Skipper this face is black, whereas in the Small Skipper it is orange or brown. In males, there is a difference in the scent mark. In Essex Skipper this is a fine, straight, short dark line on the forewing, parallel to the wing edge; in the Small Skipper males, this line is bolder and bent. This butterfly occurs throughout much of the Palaearctic region. Its range is from southern Scandinavia through Europe to North Africa and east to Central Asia. 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 and has spread across southern Canada[2] and into several northern US states.[3] In many parts of the Northeastern United States it is the most abundant skipper.[4]

  • Note the black part of the antenna tip
    Note the black part of the antenna tip
  • Thymelicus lineola ♂
    Thymelicus lineola ♂
  • ♂ △
    ♂ △
  • ♀
    ♀
  • ♀ △
    ♀ △
  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Thymelicus lineola European Skipper". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. ^ European Skipper, Butterflies of Canada
  3. ^ "European Skipper". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  4. ^ Wagner, David L. (2005). Princeton Field Guide to Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press. p. 69. ISBN 0691121443.