Lulworth Skipper

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iLulworth Skipper

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Superfamily:	Hesperioidea
Family:	Hesperiidae
Subfamily:	Hesperiinae
Genus:	Thymelicus
Species:	T. acteon

Binomial name

Thymelicus acteon
(Rottemburg, 1775)

The Lulworth Skipper Thymelicus acteon is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.

Appearance, behaviour and distribution

With a wingspan of approximately 2.5 cm this is Britain's smallest Skipper. It is noticeably darker than the other Thymelicus skippers. The females have orange 'sun ray' markings on their forewings whereas the males have darker brown wings with the usual black scent brand in the center of each forwing. It occurs in southern and central Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa. In Great Britain it is restricted to the south coast of the county of Dorset centered on the village of Lulworth, where it was first discovered in 1832, hence its English name. There are historical records of now extinct colonies in the counties of Devon and Cornwall (however the recorded sightings in Cornwall are disputed). They only fly in strong sunshine and favour south facing habitats indicating that they are at the very northern limit of their range in the UK. The butterfly's main habitats include chalk downland, coastal grassland and undercliffs.

Life Cycle and foodplants

Females lay up to fifteen eggs in clusters on flower sheaths of Tor-grass Brachypodium pinnatum the only foodplant. After about three weeks, the caterpillars hatch and immediately spin a small cocoon around the remains of the egg shells and hibernate. In spring, the larvae emerge from hibernation and construct tubes from the leaf blade fastened with silk where they stay during the day, emerging at night to feed. The caterpillars construct larger tubes as they grow, doing without them when fully grown. They pupate in June and July and the adults fly from July until the beginning of September.