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Are these Skippers the same species? Taken on Kos, Greece last week.








They might be Mallow but the underside doesn't look right to me. I was also looking at Marbled but I cant work them out.
Any help much appreciated.

Denise

Hi Denise,

I'd go for Oriental Marbled Skipper (C. Orientalis). Nice pix!

Tony Moore.

Thanks Tony,

That's what I thought no 2 might be.
Roger Gibbons thinks that no 1 is a Tufted Marbled Skipper.
I'm still looking at Reverdin's Marbled Skipper as well. I have loads more photo's if needed for definite ID.
Oh where is Padfield when I need him?

Cheers
Denise

Your faith is very touching, Denise!! I got back from the Val this morning and I really ought to go to bed and have a sleep but here I am, looking at your great photos!!

My first impression for pictures 1, 2 and 4 is that they are indeed mallow. For pictures 1 and 2, look at the markings at the end of the cell on the forewing, and just below that. In mallow skipper, and only mallow skipper (in my experience) these markings are very linear and neat, not fat, rectangular, blurry or anything else. If you look at the pictures in the books you will see what I mean. Tufted marbled skipper has a fat mark with a thin one outside it, and the others are rather obscured by a kind of spider-web effect (in the Pyrenees and Alps, anyway). Mallow skipper can have prominent spots on the upperside hindwing. Roger is just as competent as I am, if not more so, but on this occasion I think I disagree with him.

This mallow skipper was photographed this March here in Switzerland, and so I really don't think there can be any doubt about its identity. But you notice it has very strong spotting on the hindwing:



This tufted marbled skipper was photographed just this week, in the Val:



It just doesn't have those neat little marks at the end of the cell. Tufted marbled also very often has a strong grey streak on the outer margin of the forewing and a grey/white streak on the hindwing. This last may be absent (it's prominent in my picture above).

All the other marbled skippers have more or less fat marks at the end of the cell. I've never seen Oriental marbled skipper but in all the pictures my diagnosis holds and rules that out.

Your underside picture looks spot on for mallow skipper to me.

The third one has very obscure markings but on the whole I still go for mallow.

By all means post more pictures! Different species of Carcharodus often fly close to each other. I was seeing tufted marbled, marbled and mallow all on the same walk this week in the Val.

Maybe I'll change my mind when I've had some sleep (up at 4.00 am on Sunday morning and all Sunday night on a bus!).

Guy

Thank you Guy.
I've looked hard at my photo's and have nearly gone boggle-eyed.
I think that you are right, (as was Eccles) and unfortunatley all the skippers seem to be the same species.
So, it's Mallow Skipper then.

Thanks again
Denise