European Skipper

Description:

This small (wingspan: 19 to 26 mm) skipper is bright brassy orange above with narrow black borders on both wings, and the ends of the veins are outlined in black. The males have a very narrow black stigma, and females usually have a thin vertical black vein at the end of the forewing cell. Below, the forewings are pale orange and the hindwings are greyish brown. Occasionally very pale specimens (form "pallida") are seen

Habitat:

Habits: Most abundant in agricultural areas where Timothy Grass is grown for hay, lineola has spread to just about every kind of grassy area in the range, including city parks and gardens, forest trails and clearings, marshes, bog edges, and roadsides in every habitat. We saw several in our morning walk in the open fields at Tynehead Park, Surrey, B.C.

Notes:

The unique overwintering eggs of the European Skipper permitted the original introduction into North America, near London, Ontario, about 1910, in contaminated imported seeds of Timothy Grass. Even modern seed-cleaning techniques do not totally remove the eggs, and to make things worse, the waste, containing vast numbers of eggs, is sometimes combined with hay and transported as well.