David Tomlinson

Britain's Butterflies: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Ireland

Adult identifi cation: Despite its name, this is not our smallest skipper. It is best identifi ed by its unmarked golden-orange wings, though the forewing of the male carries a distinctive dark line (sex-brand). Th e wings lack the faint mottling of the Large Skipper, but check the colour of the tips of the antennae (dull brown or orange underneath) to separate it from the very similar Essex Skipper (page 44). Th is is one of the so-called ‘golden’ skippers (the group that includes Essex, Lulworth, Large and Silver-spotted Skippers)

The life-cycle of a butterfly

A butterfly starts life as a very small, round, oval or cylindrical egg. Female butterflies lay eggs on leaves of a particular plant called a host plant. Each species of butterfly has its own host plant that, when eaten by its caterpillar, will enable the caterpillar to grow and thrive. For example, female monarch butterflies will lay their eggs only on milkweed because milkweed is the only food that monarch butterfly caterpillar will eat. To the human eye, eggs appear to be nothing more than small dots however the eggs vary quite a lot in their shape, surface decoration, colour and size. Some butterfly eggs may be round, some oval and some may be ribbed while others may have other features. The egg shape depends on the type of butterfly that laid the egg. The egg stage lasts a few days in most butterflies. Caterpillars grow inside the eggs and hatch after a few days.