Barrett (1892) writes: "Several years ago, when looking through the collection of the Rev. T. H. Marsh, of Cawston, Norfolk, I noticed that his series of Strichthus alveolus [an earlier designation for Pyrgus malvae, Grizzled Skipper], Hüb., consisted of specimens larger than any known to me, and slightly different in markings. Of these he very kindly gave me two, and these I compared, as opportunity offered, with types of the other European species of this very puzzling group. My difficulty was that they did not agree precisely with any, being apparently intermediate between S. alveus [Large Grizzled Skipper] and S. serratulae [Olive Skipper]. Finally, however, it became evident that my specimens were truly S. alveus, and perhaps the difficulty experienced in deciding this point will appear less remarkable in view of the fact that Continental authors are divided in opinion as to whether S. serratulae, is, or is not, a variety of S. alveus.

Mr. Marsh took all his specimens in a damp open valley bordering a wood, in his own district, at the end of May or early in June, probably eighteen or twenty years ago [Howarth (1973) gives a precise year of 1860, although it is not clear how this was determined]. He recollects distinctly that they were on the wing when he was taking Sesia bombyliformis [Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth], also that he never saw the species except in that one year, yet believing the specimens to be S. alveolus, and therefore no rarities, he made no memorandum of the circumstance, and thus has lost the date".

Barrett (1893) elaborates further: "About the actual capture of these specimens at the place stated there is no shadow of a doubt ... but, although frequently working the district in subsequent years, he [Rev. T. H. Marsh] never saw the species again; and a strenuous effort in the present year (1892), to re-discover it, has only resulted in convincing him, as well as myself, of its total absence at the present time. Under these circumstances it seems undesirable now to introduce the species to a place in the British list, but rather to record the captures in question as specimens accidentally introduced with plants, or else the result of a very exceptional act of migration. One other specimen, apparently of the same species, and said to have been captured in Yorkshire, was exhibited by Mr. J. T. Carrington, at a meeting of the South London Entomological and Natural History Society, in January 1890, under the name of Syrichthus Carthami [Safflower Skipper]".

Barrett (1893) illustrates the butterfly in colour (Volume 1, Plate 37, Fig.2), allowing us to identify it as Pyrgus armoricanus, Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper, which had not, at the time, been separated from S. alveus, Large Grizzled Skipper.

Plate 37 of Barrett's The Lepidoptera of the British Islands (Vol. 1)

Pyrgus armoricanus

This species was first defined in Oberthür (1910) as shown here and as shown in this plate (type locality: Rennes, France).

Male
Photo © Roger Gibbons

Male Underside
Photo © Roger Gibbons

Female
Photo © Roger Gibbons

Female Underside
Photo © David Moore

Album   13