Erynnis tages

• Subfamily: Pyrginae
• Wingspan: 23-28 mm
• Flight period: May - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Lotus sp, Hippocrepis comosa, Coronilla varia.

Information

The Erynnis tages, also called Dingy Skipper , is a small butterfly (23-28 mm). Species widespread throughout Italy, excluding the islands, it is found in the plains and moors of all Europe (with the exclusion of Finland *) and temperate Asia

The uniform brown hind wings have a marginal series of small whitish spots. The fore wings are always brown with darker areas and greyish bands and with a marginal series of small whitish spaces.
The female is almost identical to the male but without a costal fold in the fore wings. The reverse of the wings is a light golden brown color with poorly defined designs and a marginal series of small light spaces.

It does not show marked sexual dimorphism except the presence of the androconial fold costal in the male already mentioned above. The caterpillar is green with a black head and a dark line along the back. ; is a eurycora species, that is a species that due to its adaptability, it lives in environments with very different characteristics, in fact it is found in meadows and clearings from the plain to the mountain level up to about 2000 meters.

It has one or two generations depending on the altitude with flickering between April and May and between July and August. Nurse plants are Lotus corniculatus and uliginosum, Hippocrepis comosa, Coronilla varia.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - European Fauna https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/