Help to identify moth / butterfly.

[A Macrae]

The insect shown was photographed at Aberlady in East Lothian, Scotland, on July 30 2016. There were several flying below half a metre height, landing on vetches, yellow rattle and grasses. The wing arrangement seems odd for a butterfly. Is this a moth?
I confess total ignorance of moths and butterflies- in fact I don't even know the difference, so I throw myself on your mercy.
I do note we seem to have a shortage of butterflies in the garden this year. Our buddleia is normally busy with them by now, but I have seen none at all this year. Is this my selection bias, or are the numbers down this year?

[MikeOxon]

Welcome to the forums and I hope it will be the start of a growing interest in butterflies!

Your insect is a Small Skipper butterfly, from a group known as the Hesperiidae, which are the most 'moth-like' of butterflies. You have accurately described their habit at flitting at high speed and low level between the flowers from which they take nectar. Your photo is of a male, identified by the black line visible on the top of the wing, which is a 'scent mark' to attract females.

If you want to improve your knowledge than there are loads of information on this site, or buy a field guide such as 'The Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland' by Richard Lewington.

The differences between moths and butterflies are subtle and there are many day-flying moths, which can easily be confused with butterflies. One big difference is that there are around 2,500 moth species in Britain and only about 58 butterfly species, which makes butterfly identification relatively easy!

I look forward to seeing more of your photos on these pages.

Mike

[A Macrae]

Thanks for that.
I see from the "Distribution" map it seems to be moving north and west.
I saw this at 56.022N -2.858W (from Googlemaps) , which puts it slightly further NW than the map on this site.
It was far from a solitary example.

[ScottD]

Hi,
You might find this a useful forum as it is more local to you. http://www.eastscotland-butterflies.org ... um.php?f=5
Also, may I ask if you have sent in a record for your sighting?
Small Skipper seems to be pushing north better on the East coast whereas Large Skipper seems to be doing better on the West.

& yes, I agree that it has been a poor year so far for butterflies (but not only them).

[NickMorgan]

It is great to see a record from Aberlady here! Small Skippers were first found at Aberlady in 2011. They have slowly been expanding their range up the east coast through Berwickshire and then appear to have made a large jump to Aberlady. At that point that was the only place where they were found in East Lothian. Since then they have expanded west to Levenhall and east to Yellowcraig. They are also found in the Lammermuir Hills near Soutra and strangely in a woodland about 15 miles south of Aberlady.
I am surprised that we haven't had any records from the east coast, particularly John Muir Country Park and Barns Ness.
Large Skippers are about 20 feet away from East Lothian right on the eastern corner of the county. Two years ago they made it about a kilometre across the border, but with the dreadful weather for the last two years I haven't received any records our side of the border since. I am sure that if we had a couple of good summers they would also manage to spread into East Lothian.