Grizzled Skipper Pyrgus malvae
This distinctive butterfly is easily identified by its characteristic black and white chequer-board patterned wings and enjoys warm, sheltered spots with little vegetation. The grizzled skipper is also quite partial to buttercup nectar.
Conservation status in Norfolk
Distribution and population numbers have declined over the past few decades. It is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species.
How to help
You can help to survey and monitor this species if it is found in areas near you, or help with conservation work to maintain its habitat.
Wildstock
Information on the Grizzled Skipper
How to recognise
The Grizzled skipper can be difficult to follow when in flight, but once it has settled, it can be identified by its characteristic black and white chequer-board pattern, and is unlikely to be confused with any other species except the dingy skipper which is much duller and a mottled brown or the chequered skipper which does not occur in Norfolk.
Where to see
The grizzled skipper likes warm, sheltered spots with sparse vegetation such as chalk downland, woodland edges and clearings and unimproved grassland. It can also be seen on disused railway lines and recently abandoned industrial sites. It occurs mainly across central and southern England in small colonies. It is not a very common or widespread butterfly in Norfolk but may be seen in Breckland and at Narborough Railway line, a disused railway embankment with chalk grassland managed by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
When to see
This is one of the first small butterflies to emerge in the spring, with the first adults emerging in mid-April. It feeds on a variety of plants from the rose family, mainly Agrimony, Creeping Cinquefoil and Wild Strawberry. It may also use Barren Strawberry, Tormentil, Salad Burnet, Bramble, Dog-rose, and Wood Avens. The butterfly’s favourite nectar sources are Bird’s-foot-trefoil and Buttercup
Did you know?
Brownfield sites are perhaps now the most important habitat for the Grizzled Skipper. Gravel workings, railways and similar disturbed ground sites can often present ideal conditions.
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