The large skipper (''Ochlodes sylvanus'') is a
butterfly
Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
of the family
Hesperiidae
Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...
.
Taxonomy
It was long known as ''
Ochlodes venatus'', but this is a
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
ern relative. There is still some dispute whether this species should be considered a distinct species or included in ''O. venatus'' as a subspecies. Under
ICZN
The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...
rules the specific name, originally proposed as ''Papilio sylvanus'', is invalid as a homonym (of the butterfly now called ''
Anthene sylvanus''), but it has been conserved by an
ICZN commission
The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries.
Orga ...
decision in 2000.
Distribution and habitat
This species occurs from Europe to the East
Palearctic realm
The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa.
The ...
(northern
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
). In the
British Isles
The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
it occurs in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
,
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
, and south western
Fauna europaea
/ref>
/ref> and southeastern Scotland.
Description
''Ochlodes sylvanus'' has a wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...
of 28–32 mm, which is similar in size to Chequered skipper Chequered skipper could refer to any of the following butterfly species:
* '' Carterocephalus palaemon'' also known as arctic skipper
* Large chequered skipper, ''Heteropterus morpheus''
* '' Kedestes lepenula''
{{disambiguation
Animal common na ...
. Although called "large" this is still a relatively small butterfly and not much larger than either the small
Small means of insignificant size
Size in general is the Magnitude (mathematics), magnitude or dimensions of a thing. More specifically, ''geometrical size'' (or ''spatial size'') can refer to three geometrical measures: length, area, or ...
or Essex skipper
__NOTOC__
''Thymelicus lineola'', known in Europe as the Essex skipper and in North America as the European skipper, is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.
With a wingspan of 2.5 to 2.9 cm, it is very similar in appearance to ...
s. The body is rather squat. The antennae are hooked at their tips. The upperside of the wings is orange-brown with a brown border and some lighter spots. The underside of the hindwings is greenish-yellow, marked with sparse yellow spots. The male has a broad scented androconia
The external morphology of Lepidoptera is the physiological structure of the bodies of insects belonging to the order Lepidoptera, also known as butterflies and moths. Lepidoptera are distinguished from other orders by the presence ...
l dark line across the top of the forewings. On the hindwings of the females there are brighter square marks. When the wings are opened, the forewings are obliquely folded, masking the hindwings.
(MHNT) Ochlodes sylvanus - Foret de Bouconne, France - male dorsal.jpg, ''Ochlodes sylvanus'' ♂
(MHNT) Ochlodes sylvanus - Foret de Bouconne, France - male ventral.jpg, ♂ △
The faint chequered pattern on both the upperside and underside, and also the hook-shaped antenna tips, help to distinguish the large skipper from these two orange skippers. The Lulworth skipper
The Lulworth skipper (''Thymelicus acteon'') is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Its name is derived from Lulworth Cove in the county of Dorset, England, where the first specimens in Great Britain were collected in 1832 by English naturali ...
also has patterned wings, but does not have the hooked antennae.
The caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
can reach a length of . It has a large blackish-brown head and a bluish green body, with a dark line down its back and a yellow stripe along each side.
Life cycle and foodplants
In northern Europe these butterflies have a single brood, but in the south they may have up to three broods.
Eggs are laid singly on the underside of foodplant leaves and hatch after about two weeks. They are normally laid on cocksfoot (''Dactylis glomerata'') but they will occasionally use purple moor-grass
''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of Poaceae, grass that is native plant, native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, i ...
(''Molinia caerulea''), false brome
''Brachypodium sylvaticum'', commonly known as false-brome, slender false brome or wood false brome, is a perennial grass native to Europe, Asia and Africa. Its native range includes most of Europe, northwestern Africa, Sudan and Eritrea, Wester ...
(''Brachypodium sylvaticum''), tor-grass
''Brachypodium pinnatum'', the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches tall. The flowerhead is ...
(''B. pinnatum'') and wood small-reed
''Calamagrostis epigejos'', common names wood small-reed or bushgrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae which is native to Eurasia and Africa. It is found from average moisture locales to salt marsh and wet habitats. (''Calamagrostis epigejos''). Larvae also feed on various ''Poaceae
Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivate ...
'', ''Phalaris arundinacea
''Phalaris arundinacea'', or reed canary grass, is a tall, perennial bunchgrass that commonly forms extensive single-species stands along the margins of lakes and streams and in wet open areas, with a wide distribution in Europe, Asia, northern ...
'', ''Alopecurus pratensis
''Alopecurus pratensis'', known as the meadow foxtail or the field meadow foxtail, is a Perennial plant, perennial grass belonging to the grass family (Poaceae). It is native to Europe and Asia.
This common plant is found on grasslands, especia ...
'', '' Calamagrostis purpurea'', ''Deschampsia flexuosa
''Avenella flexuosa'', commonly known as wavy hair-grass, is a species of bunchgrass in the grass family widely distributed in Eurasia, Africa, South America, and North America.
Description
Wavy hair-grass, ''Avenella flexuosa'', has wiry leaves ...
'', ''Phragmites communis
''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide.
Description
''Phragmites australis' ...
'' and ''Elymus caninus
''Elymus caninus'', the bearded couch or bearded wheatgrass, is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae that is native to Europe including the UK but can be found introduced in the US states of Oregon and Washington
Washington most c ...
''.,[ but also on '']Festuca
''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...
'', ''Triticum
Wheat is a group of wild and domesticated grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known wheat species and hybrids include the most widely grown comm ...
'', ''Dactylis glomerata
''Dactylis glomerata'' is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae, known as cock's-foot,Interactive Flora of NW Europ''Dactylis glomerata'' (Cock's-foot)/ref> also colloquially as orchard grass, or cat grass (due to its populari ...
'', ''Molinia
''Molinia'', or moor grass, is a genus of two species of flowering plants in the grass family, native to damp moorland in Eurasia and northern Africa. They are both herbaceous perennial grasses.
The genus is named after Juan Ignacio Molina, a 19 ...
'', ''Holcus lanatus
''Holcus lanatus'' is a perennial flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. The specific epithet ' is Latin for 'woolly' which describes the plant's hairy texture. Common names include Yorkshire fog, tufted grass, and meadow soft grass. In Nor ...
'', ''Luzula
''Luzula'' is a genus of flowering plants in the rush family Juncaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with species occurring throughout the world, especially in temperate regions, the Arctic, and higher elevation areas in the tropic ...
'', etc.
On hatching the larvae construct a shelter in the usual skipper method of curling a leaf up with silk and begins to feed. It hibernate
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic reduction entered by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It is most ...
s as a half-grown caterpillar and emerges in the spring to continue feeding and growing.
Pupation lasts about three weeks during May and June and the adults are present from June to August. It is the first of the grass skippers to emerge in the UK. It is an active butterfly in sunny weather, it is attracted to various flowers but has a distinct liking for bramble
''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, most commonly known as brambles. Fruits of various species are known as raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, and bristleberries. I ...
flowers.
Gallery
File:Ochlodes sylvanus, caterpillar.JPG, Caterpillar
File:Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) male underside.jpg, Male, underside
File:Large skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) ab. no chequered marks.jpg, Aberration
no chequered marks
File:Large skippers (Ochlodes sylvanus) mating.jpg, Mating
See also
* List of butterflies of Great Britain
This is a list of butterfly, butterflies of Great Britain, including extinct, naturalised species and those of dubious origin. The list comprises butterfly species listed in ''The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland'' by Emmet ''et a ...
* List of butterflies in Sweden
* List of Lepidoptera of Germany
Citations
References
*
*Jim Asher ''et al.'' ''The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland''. Oxford University Press.
External links
UK Butterflies
Euro ButterfliesLarge skipper page
fro
Natural History Collections of the University of Edinburgh
* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
* ttp://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Ochlodes_Sylvanus Lepiforum.de
Butterfly Conservation Armenia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q934570
Ochlodes
Butterflies of Europe
Butterflies described in 1777
Butterflies of Japan
Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper