UK Butterflies

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Genus: Pyrgus

 
Family:HesperiidaeLatreille, 1809
Subfamily:PyrginaeBurmeister, 1878
Tribe:  
Genus:PyrgusHübner, [1819]
Type Species:malvae(Linnaeus, 1758)

Description

Family: Hesperiidae

On a worldwide basis, approximately 3,500 of the 18,000 species of butterfly belong to this family, which is often referred to as the skippers since adults are characterised by their rapid and darting flight. In some species the adults rest with the forewings and hindwings in different planes, a characteristic never found in other families. The key characteristic of this family, however, is that all of the veins on the forewing run unbranched from the cell to the wing margin, as shown in the illustration below.

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Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
Photo © Timothy Freed, whose original drawing is shown in Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 7, Issue 1 (Emmet & Heath, 1989)

In addition, the antennae have a relatively-wide separation at their base and the antennal club is hooked. The head is at least as wide as the thorax. The labial palpi are short, ascending and comprised of dense hairs, and are particularly striking as a result. Each eye is smooth (there are no bristles projecting from the eye) and has a distinct eyelash; a tuft of hairs that project over the eye. The antennae extend to about half the length of the forewing.

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Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
Photo © Peter Eeles

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
Photo © William Langdon

All legs are fully developed and functional in both sexes. The foreleg tibia usually contains no spurs, the midleg tibia one pair of spurs, and the hindleg two pairs of spurs.

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Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)
Showing spurs on legs

Photo © Vince Massimo

The upperside of the male forewing often contains androconial scales, either in a costal fold (as in the Pyrginae subfamily) or in a sex brand (as in the Hesperiinae subfamily). On the forewing veins 1b and 1c are coincident, and on the hindwing veins 1b and 1c are also coincident, and vein 5 is absent.

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Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages)
Showing costal fold

Photo © Peter Eeles

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus)
Showing sex brand

Photo © Peter Eeles

Eggs are variable in terms of their shape and may be rounded or oval, and smooth or ribbed. The sparsely-haired larva has a wide head and is tapered at both ends. The first thoracic segment (the prothoracic segment) often exhibits a pigmented "plate" and is narrow, forming a neck. The larva feeds within a shelter formed from leaves of the foodplant spun together with silk. The pupa is long and tapering, formed within a cocoon of leaves and grass.

Subfamily: Pyrginae

Description to be completed.

Genus: Pyrgus

Description to be completed.

The Butterflies and Moths of the World project, run by the British Museum of Natural History, has completed a detailed analysis of various genera and their type species. Click here to visit the relevant page for this genus.

Species

This genus is represented by the species shown below.