Essex Skipper range expansion

[sidwemn]

Essex Skipper have been slowly expanding their range northwards as far north as the Humber/South Yorks. This year however, they have appeared in numbers in the Greatham Creek area in the Tees Estuary in Cleveland/southern Co Durham. There have also been reports as far north as Whitburn this week.

Is this a sudden jump in their range or have they crept north un-noticed until now?

Photos attached taken this morning at Greatham Creek

Martyn Sidwell, Middlesbrough

[ScottD]

Butterfly Conservation says that Essex distribution has doubled in the last few decades being widespread in Southern & Central England. Certainly both Small & Large have been pushing North for the last few years & I can't see why Essex should be any different.
As it happens I was also looking at Essex Skippers today near Lockerbie (they almost certainly got to Scotland as an accidental introduction but have been around here for ~10 years +).
Amazingly today we saw Large, Small & Essex Skippers all in one day.

[David M]

Good question.

I had my own 'eureka' moment when I found them in numbers only last weekend in Abergavenny.

Of all British butterflies, I believe this is the one that goes 'under the radar' the most. Because of its similarity to Small Skipper, few people pay attention to it.

I believe their TRUE distribution exceeds that which you will find in the books, and probably by some significant degree.

Perhaps we enthusiasts should all be on alert for them and we should report any sightings (along with accompanying images) to the local county recorders.

Believe me, after last weekend, I'll be checking out any golden skippers for the foreseeable future.

[Matsukaze]

They made a definite jump westwards and uphill in Somerset last year. Not sure how they have fared in their new territories this year but they have done reasonably in their traditional areas in the east of the county. The species often goes unnoticed as it does not really take to the tightly grazed grasslands of traditional butterfly hotspots but seems to prefer relatively un-recorded areas such as road verges and arable field margins.

[Rivoldini]

I spotted these three yesterday at Teesside. Are they Essex Skippers? It was very windy and they were hiding deep down in the grass so these were the best photographs I could get at the time but I could not see any orange on the antennae.

Thank you

Ron

[bugboy]

All look very Essex to my eyes

[MrSp0ck]

I spotted these three yesterday at Teesside. Are they Essex Skippers? It was very windy and they were hiding deep down in the grass so these were the best photographs I could get at the time but I could not see any orange on the antennae.

Thank you

Ron

I think they are more Small Skipper, Which has Black on the top of the end of the antennae, and if you look at the top pictures, you will see that its only the very ends of the antennae that are black and more underneath on an Essex[ the stalk is brown/orange], these ones have black and other colours right down to the head on the antennae stalk.

[David M]

Agree with this. When I've seen Essex, it's always been absolutely beyond doubt.

The contrast between the stripy orange stalk of the antennae and the inky black tips is very striking.

As MrSpock says, these insects' antennae look to have black extending way down towards the head.

[Rivoldini]

OK, thank you very much for the clarification

Ron

[Padfield]

Mmm ... I'll stick my neck out and say these look pretty good for female Essex to me - judging from the wing markings and coloration too. I suppose geography's against me, and it's always harder to identify from photos than in the flesh, but I certainly wouldn't rule Essex out and within range I would have been confident of the ID.

Guy

[Neil Hulme]

I'm with Guy on this one. I don't see anything which suggests anything other than Essex Skipper. The colour of the antennae away from the underside tips can vary from orange-brown to almost black, with or without clearly demarcated rings, in both species, which is the cause of perennial confusion between Essex and Small.

There are other 'giveaways' too, including the contrast between the grey and orange-brown areas on the underside of the forewings.

They all look spot-on for female Essex to me.

BWs, Neil

[Rivoldini]

Thanks everyone for your input and support.

Ron