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| All contents and photographs copyright Matt Rowlings, ©2003-2008. |
| Photos: explicit permission must be obtained from Matt Rowlings for any use of any images from eurobutterflies.com. |
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Essex Skipper
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Bern, Switzerland, June 2006 |
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Alpes Maritimes, France, August 2004 Both species
flying together. |
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Valais, Switzerland, June 2004 |
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Alpes Maritimes, France, August 2004 Same butterfly as above. |
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Valais, Switzerland, July 2005 |
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| Currently this butterfly appears to be
expanding its northern range, especially in the UK where in the last 20
years its range has exploded from Essex and a few other southern counties
to cover most of the southern counties. It is very closely related to the Small Skipper, T. sylvestris. Identification is complicated by the fact that both species share very similar habitats and are very often found flying together. When they do fly together they relative numbers of each species can vary widely. It can be distinguished most easily by examining the underside of the antennal clubs - these are black in lineola and golden brown in sylvestris. |