Skippers!

7th August 2023 - there are three 'skipper' butterfly species seen in the Abingtons - the Large Skipper, which is larger and has a bold black line on the wing, and the very similar Small Skipper and Essex Skipper.  The latter two were both present along the Old Railway Cutting recently, giving Andy M the opportunity to photograph both, and to highlight the differences - which, should be said, are hard to spot in the absence of a good photograph!

The Small Skipper and Essex Skipper are both similar in size, both appearing in July and August, both being a somewhat variable orangey colour with darker veins, and both holding their wings up separately (as do all skippers).  

The key difference is the colour of the underside of the antennae tips , which are best viewed from the front of the butterfly, rather than above.  In the case of the Small Skipper, the underside of the antennae tip is orange, whereas in the Essex Skipper this is black, as can be seen in the photos below.

Small Skipper - top view - hard to see the underside of the antennae tips

The same Small Skipper - front view, clearly showing the orange antennae tips

Essex Skipper - top view

The same Essex Skipper - front view, showing the all black antennae tips