Lulworth Skipper - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

The Lulworth Skipper is found locally across southern and central Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa, where its population is considered stable. In northern Europe, its numbers and range have severely declined, most notably in the Netherlands where it is now extinct. This decline has led to the butterfly's European status of 'vulnerable'. The butterfly is part of the United Kingdom Biodiversity Action Plan, listed due to its status fulfilling the "Threat" criteria.

In Great Britain, where the butterfly reaches the northern limit of its range, its distribution is restricted to the southern coastline of the county of Dorset. Here, both the population and range have changed little in recent decades; it is locally abundant, with the majority of colonies found on the coast between Weymouth and Swanage and on the Purbeck Ridge, a line of inland chalk hills. Two outlying colonies also exist, at Burton Bradstock and on the Isle of Portland; the cause of the colony on Portland is unknown, but has been put down to either natural colonisation or released specimens. There is evidence to suggest that the Lulworth Skipper is now more abundant in Dorset than at any other time since its discovery in 1832.

Although colonies of Lulworth Skippers existed in Devon, the species has, beyond single records, not be seen in the county since the 1930s. Similarly, records of occurrences exist for Cornwall, but they have not been verified as native colonies.

Habitats are primarily on unfertilised calcareous grassland; this includes chalk download, coastal grassland and undercliffs in Britain. In all of these habits Tor-grass (Illustration 2), the butterfly's sole food plant and that on which it lays eggs, is widespread. Tall, ungrazed grass is a favoured habitat due to oviposition and larval development; Lulworth Skippers have benefited from the move away from tight grazing by sheep in the last century and recently outbreaks of myxomatosis among rabbit populations, which otherwise maintain a lower grass height. However, there is evidence to suggest that minimal grazing is not detrimental to the species, and may in fact be beneficial in that it encourages the growth of flowers that act as adult nectar sources.