Lulworth skipper
hymelicus acteon latin

Although colonies of Lulworth Skippers existed in Devon, the species has, beyond single records, not be seen in the county since the 1930s.

The Lulworth Skipper (Thymelicus acteon) is a butterfly of the Hesperiidae family.

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.

Thymelicus acteon (Lulworth Skipper)

The Lulworth Skipper was first described by German entomologist S. A. von Rottemburg in 1775.

The Lulworth Skipper is found locally across southern and central Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa, where its population is considered stable.

In the novel The Return of the Native, by Thomas Hardy, a possible reference is made to Lulworth Skippers in the "strange amber-coloured butterflies" which "were never seen elsewhere."

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 Thymelicus genus in Europe and among the smallest butterflies in Britain.

Tall, ungrazed grass is a favoured habitat due to oviposition 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 among rabbit populations, which otherwise maintain a lower grass height.