| Family | Hesperiidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Heteropterinae |
| Genus | Heteropterus |
| Species | morpheus |
| Authority | (Pallas, 1771) |
| English Name | Large Chequered Skipper |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The conspicuous pattern on the underside of the wings of the Large Chequered Skipper is unlike that of any other European butterfly. Furthermore, it has a characteristic, bouncing flight, low over the vegetation. It occurs in damp, rough, grassy places, such as grasslands, road verges, edges of streams, at the edges of raised bogs, and in woodland clearings. The eggs are laid singly or in small batches on the blades of grasses, such as Purple Moor-grass (Molinea caerulea) or Purple Smallreed (Calamagrostis canescens). The caterpillar makes a tubular shelter from grass, at first using a folded blade, and later using spun grass-blades. It leaves its shelter in search of food. The caterpillars pass the winter in the shelter. Pupation takes place in spring. The Large Chequered Skipper has one generation a year.
Albania / Austria / Belarus / Belgium (Regionally Extinct) / Belgium: Flanders (Regionally Extinct) / Belgium: Wallonia (Regionally Extinct) / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia / Denmark / Estonia / Finland / France / France: Mainland / Germany / Hungary / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Latvia / Lithuania / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands / Poland / Romania / European Russia / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Sweden (Irregular Vagrant) / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine / United Kingdom: Jersey /