Blues and Skippers

Blues, Coppers and Skippers (Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae)

The family of the Lycaenidae is generally referred to as Blues. True, a number of species are blue indeed, but they are only a portion of all species within this family. And of many only one side of the wings is blue: the upperside, which many species hardly ever show! Actually this family is comprised of many small sized butterflies that did not fit in any other family. For the coppers are part of this family too. Many coppers look like very small nymphalids, colored like for instance the Small Tortoiseshell. To us it was logical to combine this family with another one: the Hesperiidae or skippers. Skippers all do look like another and when you have seen one, you will always be able to tell whether a butterfly is a skipper or not, even after a very short glimpse. Skippers are heavily built, but have tiny wings. They seem to be a mix between moths and butterflies. They have the heavy body of the owlets or woolly bears, but the antennae have a knob on them, like in any other butterfly. Of the species mentioned here, the Large Skipper is the only skipper. All other species are blues (Lycaenidae).

Contents: 1 Holly Blue, Celastrina argiolus 2 Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus 3 Purple Hair-streak, Quercusia quercus 4 Small Copper, Lycaena phlaeas 5 Large Skipper, Ochlodes venata

The first blue we'd like to introduce to you is the Holly Blue. It is quite numerous in our garden. This is a small species, reaching a wingspan of no more than 30 mm. It is a very common species all over Europe, including the British Isles, except for Scandinavia and the northern parts of Scotland. The caterpillar is keen on Holly and Ivy. The caterpillar excretes a sweet substance, which attract ants. They protect the larva, much the same way they protect aphids. The butterfly appears wherever the foodplants are, even in the centre of big cities, parks, graveyards and gardens. Usually flies in two broods from May to September.

The Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus).

Another very common butterfly is the Common Blue. It is abundant not only in Europe (except for the Azores and Iceland), but in Northern and Central Asia as well. The caterpillar can be found on many plants, but obviously prefers clover. Usually flies in 2 or 3 overlapping generations from May till October. It is about the same size as the Holly Blue. The fact that it is well marked on the underside of the wings does not mean a thing: there are many species with similar markings on the underside of their wing. Males differ from females. Males have the upperside of their wings blue, like a blue should. Females however have brown upperwings.

The Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is all over Europe and Asia from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

The hair streaks also belongs to the family of blues. These are small butterflies, often greyish or blueish and with a clear tip or hook on the lower wing. There should be lots of Purple Hairstreaks in our garden, but one hardly ever sees them. They usually live up between the tops of Oak Trees and seldom fly near the ground. They favour the sweet excretions from aphids over flowers. Sometimes however a garden with colourful and smelling flowers is irresistable, even for a Purple Hairstreak... The wingspan is some 33 mm at most. Purple Hairstreaks are very common butterflies all over Europe, including most of the British Isles.

Purple Hairstreak (Quercusia quercus).

In nature exceptions are more or less the rule. In this case it means that there are blues which are... not blue! In fact there's a whole group of them. Their basic color is more or less copper and therefore they are actually called: coppers. In most gardens in Holland the Small Copper is a regular guest. It looks very much like a Small Tortoiseshell, only darker and much smaller. The Small Copper can be found in Europe, Northern Africa, Northern Asia and in Northern America and usually is common everywhere. Reaching a wingspan of no more than 25 mm this is a very small butterfly indeed.

Small Copper, also called the American Copper (Lycaena phlaeas).

It is very easy to mistake skippers for moths. Their large body and very small wings do not remind you much of the grace and colours of, for instance, the Peacock. Nevertheless skippers are real butterflies. The main difference between butterflies and moths is that with moths the two wings are connected. Butterflies lack this connection. Moths are therefore steadier flyers, though not necessarily better flyers. There is another way to tell the two groups apart: the antennae of Butterflies are always rather short, thin like a wire and end in a little knot or dot. The moths have very varying antennae: like a comb, short and thick or long and thin, but never the shape of that of the butterflies. Skippers belong to their own family of butterflies called scientifically Hesperiidae. The Large Skipper may reach a wingspan of some 33 mm, but it looks much smaller because of the tiny wings.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes venata).

Also visit Hania's Photographer's Pages, including pictures from Holland, Germany, China, the USA and Malaysia.

This page has been created October 19th, 2003. Last update: February 20th, 2005.

Our Search Engine