Very Small Skipper?

[JohnR]

I only briefly saw this but it gave me the impression of being a half-size Small Skipper. Any suggestions?

V Small Skipper.jpg (33.92 KiB) Viewed 294 times

[David M]

Looks fairly proportioned to me (and this last month I've spent far more time than I'd like to admit on all fours examining these critters).

[JohnR]

Does dwarfism occur in butterflies? This one was certainly smaller than the other Small Skippers in my field.

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi John,

It does, but only rarely. I would imagine climate, temperature and foodplant availability are the main contributory factors.

I remember as a kid going to Watkins & Doncaster in Hawkhurst, Kent and they had display cases in the shop with miniature specimens of most UK species. Fascinating.

I saw a half size male Meadow Brown recently, about the size of a large Small Copper.

Cheers

Lee