Description
The male Lulworth Skipper has a wingspan of 24–27 millimetres (0.94–1.1 in), and the female 25–28 mm (0.98–1.1 in). This makes it one of Britain's smallest butterflies and, in Europe, the smallest member of the Thymelicus genus. Of Britain's five "golden" skippers — the others being the Silver-spotted Skipper (Hesperia comma), Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus), Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) and Essex Skipper (Thymelicus lineola) — the Lulworth is both the smallest and darkest. Beyond its small size, it is distinguished particularly by its dark, dun-coloured wings that appear with tinges of olive-brown; this darkening especially apparent in males.
Variations are known to occur; in north-west Africa, the uppersides of the fore and hind wing are darker, with hints of greenish or greyish brown. Similarly-coloured races occur in Spain, Elba, Crete, and other Eastern Mediterranean islands. T. acteon christi, endemic to the Canary Islands, displays colour variations, with the uppersides of the fore-wing showing defined yellow–orange markings.
The butterfly is sexually dimorphic; females have a distinct circle of golden marks on each forewing, often called 'sun-ray' markings due to their likeness to the rays around the eye of a peacock's feather. Males sometimes have these markings, though they are noticeably fainter (see Illustration 1).
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