| Family | Hesperiidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Pyrginae |
| Genus | Pyrgus |
| Species | carthami |
| Authority | (Hübner, [1813]) |
| English Name | Safflower 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 Safflower Skipper is the largest grizzled skipper in Central Europe. It prefers sheltered places, occurring on dry, often calcareous grasslands, and on rough vegetation in places sheltered from the wind. They often rest near bushes or at the edges of woods. They lay their eggs singly on the upperside of the leaves of cinquefoils (Potentilla spp.), the caterpillar later using leaves as food. However, the caterpillars are difficult to find, because they hide away in plant cushions during the day, in order to survive the summer heat. The caterpillars hibernate in spun leaves in the litter layer, probably in the last larval instar. However, in breeding experiments, each stage was found to be capable of hibernating. Before they pupate, the caterpillars make a sturdy cocoon. The Safflower Skipper is single-brooded.
Albania / Andorra / Austria / Belgium (Regionally Extinct) / Belgium: Wallonia (Regionally Extinct) / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia / France / France: Mainland / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Hungary / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Lithuania (Regionally Extinct) / North Macedonia / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands (Irregular Vagrant) / Poland / Romania / European Russia / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Switzerland / European Türkiye (Regionally Extinct) / Ukraine /