Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola
To me this was just another Skipper photo until a friend pointed out that the black tips to the antennae make it an Essex Skipper. The interesting thing about this particular insect is that it appears to be feeding from what we would regard as a dead floret. So assuming that they know better than we do about where nectar is to be found, the flowers of this Anthyllis species retain nectar after the petals have withered.
Known as the European Skipper in North America, this species although not very common in the UK, is common on the continent of Europe. The favoured larval food plant is the very common Dactylis glomerata (Cocksfoot) but other grasses are also used occasionally including Holcus mollis (Creeping Soft-grass), Phleum pratense (Timothy) and Brachypodium species but only rarely does it use Holcus lanatus (Yorkshire Fog) the favoured larval food plant of the very similar Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).
The adult will use purple or reddish flowers like Thistles and Red Clover to feed in the UK so a pink Anthyllis vulneraria ssp pyrenaica (Kidney Vetch), the plant in the photo, is a good approximation.
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| Essex Skipper Thymelicus lineola |
Hills opposite Gèdre, French Pyrenees, 13th June 2009
Added on 14th June 2010