Lulworth Skipper
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The Lulworth skipper (''Thymelicus acteon'') 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 ...
. Its name is derived from
Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. It is privately owned by the Weld family along with Durdle Door and the Lulworth Estate. The cove is one of the world's finest examples ...
in the county of
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
,
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 ...
, where the first specimens in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
were collected in 1832 by English naturalist
James Charles Dale James Charles Dale (13 December 1791 – 6 February 1872) was an English naturalist who devoted almost all of his adult life to entomology. Family Dale was the only son of Dorset landowner James Dale of Glanvilles Wootton and his wife, Mary Kel ...
. The species occurs locally across
Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, where its population is considered stable. Its numbers have declined in
Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...
, leading to its European status of "vulnerable". Its range in Britain is restricted to the south coast of Dorset, however it is locally abundant and its numbers currently are perhaps at their greatest since its discovery there. With a wingspan of 24 to 28 millimetres, females being larger than males, the Lulworth skipper is a small butterfly, the smallest member of the genus ''Thymelicus'' in Europe and among the smallest butterflies in Britain. Aside from the size difference, the sexes are distinguished by females having a distinct circle of golden marks on each forewing. Due to their likeness to the rays around the eye of a peacock's feather, these are often known as "sun-ray" markings, and they can faintly appear on males.


Taxonomy

The Lulworth skipper was first described by German
entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...
S. A. von Rottemburg in 1775. The butterfly was first discovered in Britain on 15 August 1832, when specimens were taken from
Lulworth Cove Lulworth Cove is a cove near the village of West Lulworth, on the Jurassic Coast in Dorset, southern England. It is privately owned by the Weld family along with Durdle Door and the Lulworth Estate. The cove is one of the world's finest examples ...
in
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
by English naturalist
James Charles Dale James Charles Dale (13 December 1791 – 6 February 1872) was an English naturalist who devoted almost all of his adult life to entomology. Family Dale was the only son of Dorset landowner James Dale of Glanvilles Wootton and his wife, Mary Kel ...
. It was introduced the following year as the Lulworth skipper (''Thymelicus acteon''), a name that has remained unchanged; it is the only one of Britain's
vernacular Vernacular is the ordinary, informal, spoken language, spoken form of language, particularly when perceptual dialectology, perceived as having lower social status or less Prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige than standard language, which is mor ...
butterfly names for which there has never been a proposed substitute.


Description

The male Lulworth skipper has a wingspan of , and the female 25 to 28 mm. This makes it one of Britain's smallest butterflies and, in Europe, the smallest member of the ''Thymelicus''
genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
. Of Britain's five "golden" skippers—the others being the silver-spotted skipper (''Hesperia comma''),
large skipper The large skipper (''Ochlodes sylvanus'') is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Taxonomy It was long known as ''Ochlodes venatus'', but this is a Far Eastern relative. There is still some dispute whether this species should be considered a d ...
(''Ochlodes sylvanus''),
small skipper The small skipper (''Thymelicus sylvestris'') is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Appearance It has a rusty orange colour to the wings, upper body, and the tips of the antennae. The body is silvery white below, and it has a wingspan of 25 ...
(''Thymelicus sylvestris'') and
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 ...
(''Thymelicus lineola'')—the Lulworth is both the smallest and darkest. Beyond its small size, it is distinguished particularly by its dark, dun-coloured wings that appear with tinges of olive-brown; this darkening especially apparent in males. Variations are known to occur; in north-west Africa, the uppersides of the forewing and hindwing are darker, with hints of greenish or greyish brown. Similarly-coloured races occur in
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...
,
Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, and other eastern
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
islands. ''T. acteon christi'',
endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
, displays colour variations, with the uppersides of the forewing showing defined yellow–orange markings. The butterfly is
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
; females have a distinct circle of golden marks on each forewing, often called "sun-ray" markings due to their likeness to the rays around the eye of a peacock's feather. Males sometimes have these markings, though they are noticeably fainter (see ''Illustration 1''). LulworthM&F.png, alt=Two butterflies side-by-side. The left (female) is dark brown, with lighter circles on the top wings. The right (male) is darker, and the circles are less visible, ''Illustration 1'': Female (left) and Male (right) Lulworth skipper specimens Nordens flora Brachypodium pinnatum.jpg, alt= 4 parts of the tor grass. (1) a slanted brownish stem with roots that branch off at intervals, and which turns upwards and splits into two further greenish stems. The left, breaking into a more brownish stem near the bottom, continues to the top, where its grass blade folds back down. The other stem is similar, but its grass blade begins further down. (2) A narrow vertical green stem, from which alternating grass heads split out. The top-most grass head is verital. (3) a partially coloured flower, with a creamy stamen emerging from the centre, that is narrow but splits in two at either end. (4) a long and narrow dark brown pod displayed vertically., ''Illustration 2'': Tor-grass is the sole food plant of the Lulworth skipper, and plays an important role in its life cycle Britishentomologyvolume5Plate442.jpg, Illustration from John Curtis's ''British Entomology'' Vol. 5 Thymelicus acteon.jpg, underside


Distribution and habitat

The Lulworth skipper is found locally across southern and central
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
,
Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
and
North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...
, where its population is considered stable. In northern Europe, its numbers and range have severely declined, most notably in the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
where it is now extinct. This decline has led to the butterfly's European status of "vulnerable". Isolated populations of the species in Armenia are also threatened, although not yet included in the National Red List. It is also listed as threatened under the
United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan The United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) was the UK government's response to the Convention on Biological Diversity, opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. The UK was the first country to produce a national Biodiversi ...
. In
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, where the butterfly reaches the northern limit of its
range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...
, its distribution is restricted to the southern coastline of the county of
Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...
. Here, both the population and range have changed little in recent decades; it is locally abundant, with the majority of colonies found on the coast between Weymouth and
Swanage Swanage () is a coastal town and civil parish in the south east of Dorset, England. It is at the eastern end of the Isle of Purbeck and one of its two towns, approximately south of Poole and east of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. In the Unit ...
and on the Purbeck Ridge, a line of inland
chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...
hills. Two outlying colonies also exist, at
Burton Bradstock Burton Bradstock is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, approximately southeast of Bridport and inland from the English Channel at Chesil Beach. In the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census the parish had a population of 948. The ...
and on the
Isle of Portland The Isle of Portland is a tied island, long by wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill, lies south of the resort of Weymouth, Dorset, Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier ...
; the cause of the colony on Portland is unknown, but has been put down to either natural colonisation or released specimens. There is evidence to suggest that the Lulworth skipper is now more abundant in Dorset than at any other time since its discovery in 1832. Although colonies of Lulworth skippers existed in
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, the species has, beyond single records, not be seen in the county since the 1930s. Similarly, records of occurrences exist for
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, but they have not been verified as native colonies. Habitats are primarily on unfertilised
calcareous Calcareous () is an adjective meaning "mostly or partly composed of calcium carbonate", in other words, containing lime (mineral), lime or being chalky. The term is used in a wide variety of Science, scientific disciplines. In zoology ''Calcare ...
grassland; this includes chalk download, coastal grassland and undercliffs in Britain. In all of these habits Tor-grass (''Illustration 2''), the butterfly's sole food plant and that on which it lays eggs, is widespread. Tall, ungrazed grass is a favoured habitat due to
oviposition The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...
and larval development; Lulworth skippers have benefited from the move away from tight grazing by sheep in the last century and recently outbreaks of
myxomatosis Myxomatosis is a disease caused by '' Myxoma virus'', a poxvirus in the genus '' Leporipoxvirus''. The natural hosts are tapeti (''Sylvilagus brasiliensis'') in South and Central America, and brush rabbits (''Sylvilagus bachmani'') in North ...
among rabbit populations, which otherwise maintain a lower grass height. However, there is evidence to suggest that minimal grazing is not detrimental to the species, and may in fact be beneficial in that it encourages the growth of flowers that act as adult
nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
sources.


Behaviour


Life cycle

The females lay their eggs in rows of 5 to 6 (although as many as 15 have been recorded) on the flower-sheath of Tor-grass (''Brachypodium pinnatum''), preferring the dead sheaths of tall plants. The care taken by females over where to lay their eggs is considered the only remarkable part of the Lulworth skipper breeding process, otherwise it is considered common. Upon hatching, the 2.5 cm (1 in) long
larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...
spins a compact cocoon on the site of the eggshell. In this, it will
overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...
until around the third week of April, at which point it will eat its way out by making a small hole in the side of the sheath. The caterpillar will then search for tender Tor-grass blades and feed upon them by chewing out notches from the margin. During this time, it will live separately, within a tube composed of the two edges of a blade bound by cords of silk. Fresh tubes will be made as the caterpillar grows larger. Lulworth skipper caterpillars live in the warmest zone of a grass clump, at a height of . The
pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...
l stage lasts for about two weeks, from the beginning of June onwards, until late July. It is formed inside a loose "nest" of silk and grass that is spun deep inside a tussock of tor grass.
Imago In biology, the imago (Latin for "image") is the last stage an insect attains during its metamorphosis, its process of growth and development; it is also called the ''imaginal'' stage ("imaginal" being "imago" in adjective form), the stage in wh ...
begin to emerge in the early middle of July and finish emerging in the middle of September. Typically, they will live for five to ten days—the normal lifespan for a non-hibernating butterfly of the Lulworth's seasonal stage. They fly only in strong sunshine and tend to form discrete colonies, with the largest containing up to 100,000 individuals.


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 ...


Notes and references


Notes


References


External links


Tree of Life web project

Butterfly Conservation Armenia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q225757 Thymelicus Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1775