Large Skipper

Name: Large Skipper

Scientific name: Ochlodes venata

Category: Minibeasts

Nature Stars: 30

What are nature stars?

About: A small orange butterfly, with a wingspan of about 3.5cm. Adults fly between June and August, when they can often be seen sunbathing in long grass of feeding on flowers. They can be found on rough grassland, woodland edges, sand dunes, along road verges, even large gardens, anywhere else with plenty of grasses. The foodplant is Cocksfoot and some other grasses.

How to identify: Larger and chunkier than the similar Small Skipper, with darker brown patches on the wings.

Where: England, Wales and southern parts of Scotland

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 10
• Agility: 70
• Rarity: 20
• Cute factor: 50
• Traveller: 50

Fantastic fact: The Large Skipper can be found right across Europe and Asia as far east as Japan.

Photograph credit: Keith Warmington/www.warmies.co.uk