Great British Lepidoptera

Grizzled Skipper

(Pyrgus malvae)

This conspicuous and attractive little butterfly is easy to identify with its brown and white markings and grey (or 'grizzled') hairs. It basks in the sun with its wings spread out flat, but in dull weather the wings are firmly closed together over its back. In flight it is so swift and darting that it may be quite difficult to follow.

The Grizzled Skipper is found in central and southern England in flowery meadows and on chalk grassland, especially in hollows and on sheltered slopes. The caterpillar's main foodplants are Wild Potentillas such as Barren Strawberry, Creeping Cinquefoil and Silverweed. Other plants that are sometimes used for food by the caterpillars are Wild Strawberry and Raspberry, which grow in many parts of the North and South Downs, and also Brambles in scrubby lowland areas.

The butterflies are never seen in great numbers like the Blues, but they can usually be found in suitable localities. There is usually only one generation a year, with the butterfly in flight during May and June. In warm years a second generation may occur, and they appear again in August. Each butterfly lives for about two weeks.