| Family | Hesperiidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Pyrginae |
| Genus | Carcharodus |
| Species | alceae |
| Authority | (Esper, 1780) |
| English Name | Mallow 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 Mallow Skipper is a butterfly of warm, grassy places, usually with rough vegetation. It is a mobile butterfly, that strays outside its usual habitat, and thus can be met in unexpected places. In warm summers, they migrate northwards and can be seen in warm, south-facing river valleys. The resident populations are usually small. The butterflies are often seen visiting flowers for nectar. They also spend a lot of their time basking in the sun, their wings widespread, showing to full advantage their beautiful purple to olive-green metallic sheen. Eggs are laid singly on the upperside of the leaves of mallows (Malva ssp.). The caterpillars thrive on this food, growing very quickly. This skipper has up to three or more broods per year. As winter approaches, the fully-grown caterpillars make a cocoon in the litter layer. They pupate in the spring.
Albania / Andorra / Austria / Belarus / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Cyprus / Czechia / France / France: Mainland / France: Corsica / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: East Aegean Islands / Greece: Kirti (Crete) / Hungary / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sardinia / Italy: Sicily / Liechtenstein / Lithuania / Luxembourg / North Macedonia / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Romania / European Russia / San Marino / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Spain: Balearic Islands / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine /