There were many territorial male Small Skippers in a meadow area in the outskirts of town. The males look like little, golden triangles perched on grass tips or flower heads, which dart after passing butterflies hoping for a female skipper. Males and female skippers are easy to tell apart when perched, as males have a dark line parallel to the edge of their forewings, the 'sex brand'. The photo above shows a female, below, a male. Both sexes were enjoying the plentiful creeping thistle flowers.
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I'm currently down in Thames Ditton, Surrey - and we had a Small Skipper explosion here late last week - out of seemingly nowhere - every Lavender bush had Small Skippers on it! I counted as many as seven S. Skippers on one Lavender plant.
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I have spent at least a month of every summer for the last 14 years in the area, and it is the first time I've ever seen any species of skipper butterfly there!
All the skippers are a delight to see.
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