Thymelicus sylvestris in Crete, Greece (Small Skipper)

Thymelicus sylvestris, Crete - photo © K. Bormpoudaki

Thymelicus sylvestris

BUTTERFLY INFO

Thymelicus sylvestris is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae on the island of Crete, Greece.

Scientific name

Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Common name

Small Skipper

Classification

Family: Hesperiidae > Subfamily: Hesperiinae > Tribus: Hesperiini > Genus: Thymelicus

Wingspan

Male to female: 25-30 mm

Appearance

On the forewing, the upper side is light brown-orange and yellow shaded. There is a distinctive black marginal line, not entering the submarginal area. The underside is very light yellow-orange colored with pale grey near the apex. A very thin line of androconia is also present on the male.

On the hindwing, both sides are similar to the forewing, but lacking marks. The underside is light brown without any markings.

Generally, both sexes have a similar appearance, but there aren’t any grey shades on the underside of the hindwings. The antennae clubs are brown-colored underside.

Thymelicus sylvestris has a similar appearance to Thymelicus acteon, but it differs in being a lighter brown color. The female also lacks the pale gold discal patch on the forewing, which forms a gentle curve in the case of Thymelicus acteon.

Behavior

It flies fast low to the ground and is strongly attracted to purple flowers such as thistles and knapweeds. The butterfly is active in the sunshine, it has a rapid buzzing flight, ‘skipping’ from flower to flower.

Habitat

Thymelicus sylvestris in Crete lives in mountains or lowland, it is typically occurring where grass has grown tall. It flies in dry sunny slopes, shrubland, rocky slopes, olive groves, cultivated areas, river, and lake banks.

Food plant

The larva feeds on Poaceae plants.

Flight period

The butterfly flies in one generation per year.

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

Remarks

It appears to be a very rare species on the island, with dubious records in recent years, due to its extreme similarity to the common Thymelicus acteon on the island. Its existence and distribution on Crete needs to be further investigated.