Everything about The Hesperia Comma totally explained
The
Hesperia comma (
Silver-spotted Skipper) is a
butterfly of the
Hesperiidae family. It is known as the
Common Branded Skipper or
Holarctic Grass Skipper in
North America, where the butterfly
Epargyreus clarus, a
Spread-winged Skipper, also has the common name of 'Silver-spotted Skipper'.
Appearance, behaviour and distribution
Often confused with the
Large Skipper Ochlodes venata, this species is easily distinguished by the numerous white spots on the underside hindwings, and the tips of the upper forewings tend to be darker than those of the Large Skipper. Also their flight periods rarely overlap; in Britain the the Large Skipper has all but finished when the Silver-spotted takes to the wing in August. The Silver-spotted Skipper prefers warm
calcareous sites and has a wide distribution as far south as North
Africa, northwards throughout
Europe to the
Arctic and eastwards across
Asia to
China and
Japan. It also has subspecies in North America. In the
UK it's rare and restricted to
chalk downlands of southern
England.
Subspecies
- Hesperia comma assiniboia (Lyman 1892)
- Hesperia comma benuncas (Oberthur 1912)
- Hesperia comma borealis Lindsey 1942 - Labrador Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma catena (Staudinger 1861)
- Hesperia comma colorado (Scudder 1874)
- Hesperia comma comma (Linnaeus 1758)
- Hesperia comma dimila (Moore 1874)
- Hesperia comma dodgei (Bell 1927) - Dodge's Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma florinda (Butler 1878)
- Hesperia comma harpalis (WH Edwards 1881) - Yosemite Branded Skipper (= Hesperia comma idaho, Idaho Branded Skipper)
- Hesperia comma hulbirti Lindsey 1939 - Hulbirt's Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma laurentina (Lyman 1892) - Laurentian Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma lena Korshunov & P. Gorbunov 1995
- Hesperia comma leussleri Lindsey 1940 - Leussler's Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma manitoba (Scudder 1874)
- Hesperia comma mojavensis Austin & McGuire 1998 - Mojave Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma manitoba (Scudder 1874) - Manitoba Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma mattoonorum McGuire 1998
- Hesperia comma mixta Alpheraky 1881
- Hesperia comma ochracea Lindsey 1941
- Hesperia comma oroplata Scott 1981
- Hesperia comma oregonia (WH Edwards 1883) - Oregon Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma pallida Staudinger 1901
- Hesperia comma planula Korshunov 1995
- Hesperia comma sachalinensis Matsumura 1933
- Hesperia comma shandura Evans 1949
- Hesperia comma susanae L Miller 1962
- Hesperia comma sushinki Korshunov 1995
- Hesperia comma tildeni HA Freeman 1956 - Tilden's Branded Skipper
- Hesperia comma yosemite Leussler 1933
Life cycle and foodplants
Females lay single eggs during August and September on the leaf blades of
Sheep's Fescue Festuca ovina, the only foodplant, and occasionally on nearby plants. The females are very fussy where they lay; most eggs in the UK are laid in short turf, up to 4cm, and often next to patches of bare ground. This species overwinters as an egg and hatches in March. Like other skippers the
larvae construct small tent-like structures from leaf blades and silk from which to feed. They enter the
pupal stage after 14 to 15 weeks at the base of the foodplant. Pupation takes 10 to 14 days, and as with most butterflies the males emerge first.
Recent resurgence in the UK
Concerted conservation efforts in the UK, backed by government agencies, have seen this once-threatened species thriving in certain areas. Numbers have increased by some 1500% over the last twenty years; the number of sites has increased from just 68, with 202 new sites established. Conservation schemes have focussed on providing the Silver-spotted Skipper with suitable habitats, with positive results.
References and external links
Barnett LK and Warren MS. Species action plan. Silver-spotted Skipper Hesperia comma
. Butterfly conservation October 1995.
Silver-spotted Skipper page from Captain's European Butterfly guide.
Cirrus Digital Imaging Silver-spotted skipper aka Epargyreus clarus: reference photographs - North America
Hesperia comma page from The Butterflies of Norway site.
Jim Asher et al The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland Oxford University Press
Article from The Times, 15 May 2006
The Butterfly Monitoring SchemeFurther Information
Get more info on 'Hesperia Comma'.
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