Dingy Skipper - Erynnis tages, family Hesperiidae. This common butterfly is widespread in central and southern Europe and occurs in southern Scandinavia . It is widely distributed and often common in chalk and limestone areas of the British Isles although it is rather local in Scotland and Ireland . Habitats range from roadsides and railway embankments to heaths and forest margins up to 2000 meters. The caterpillar has a brown head and a yellowish-green body with a dark line along the and a faint pale line along each side. It feeds on the foliage of birdsfoot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and other members of the pea family (ie. Hippocrepis and Coronilla), spinning leaflets together to form a shelter. When full grown it spins a cocoon on the foodplant in which it overwinters before pupating in the spring. The butterfly is on the wing from May to June or later and in southern Europe it may produce two broods a year. The butterflies often bask on bare ground with their wings spread open.
Text: Butterflies and Moths in Britain and Europe (1982) David Carter. Pan Books
