| Family | Hesperiidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Hesperiinae |
| Genus | Thymelicus |
| Species | lineola |
| Authority | (Ochsenheimer, 1808) |
| English Name | Essex Skipper |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Vulnerable (VU) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Endangered (EN) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The Essex Skipper occurs in many sorts of flower-rich places with tall grass, such as grasslands, road verges and on banks of streams. Because these butterflies need quite a lot of nectar, they can often be seen drinking on thistles, knapweeds and other purple or pink flowers rich in nectar. The female deposits her eggs in groups in the leaf-sheaths of coarse grasses, and lays them when the foodplants are already withered. It is the eggs that hibernate. The development of the caterpillar takes place the following spring. At first, the caterpillar only feeds during the day, but later also at night. They pupate in the vegetation. The pupa may be suspended from a grass blade by a silken girdle, but also just by the tip. The Essex Skipper is single-brooded.
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