Oberthür's Grizzled Skipper (Pyrgus armoricanus)

Photo © Chris Van Swaay

Family	Hesperiidae
Subfamily	Pyrginae
Genus	Pyrgus
Species	armoricanus
Authority	(Oberthür, 1910)
English Name	Oberthür's Grizzled 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

Description

Oberthür’s Grizzled Skipper is generally limited to unimproved grasslands. In the north of its range, the populations are small, but large numbers of butterflies make up the southern populations. The butterflies can often be seen visiting flowers and seem to be especially fond of Globularia. The female lays her eggs singly on the underside of the leaves of cinquefoils (Potentilla spp.) and rockroses (Helianthemum spp.). The caterpillars of the first instar only eat the surface layer, leaving translucent “windows” in the leaf. The larger caterpillars eat the whole leaf, and live in a tent-like shelter, spun from one or more leaves. It is the caterpillar that hibernates. It pupates in a cocoon on the ground and there are two to three generations a year.

Distribution

Albania / Austria / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders (Regionally Extinct) / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia / Denmark / France / France: Mainland / France: Corsica / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: Kirti (Crete) / Hungary / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sardinia / Italy: Sicily / Luxembourg / North Macedonia / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands (Irregular Vagrant) / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Romania / European Russia / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Sweden / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine /

Larval Foodplants