Other Common Names
Essex Skipper (Europe, the name used in its native range)
Explanation of Names
LINEOLA: a Late Latin word, diminutive of the Latin "linea" (a line); lineolate means "marked with minute, usually parallel lines" - a reference to the thin black lines near the outer margin on the upperside of its wings
Numbers
the most abundant butterfly in many places in the east, often outnumbering all other species combined
the only species in this Eurasian genus occurring in North America
Size
in Canada, wingspan 19-26 mm (Butterflies of Canada)
Identification
Adult: bright brassy orange above with narrow black borders on both wings, and ends of veins outlined in black; male has very narrow black stigma, and female usually has thin vertical black vein at end of forewing cell
below, forewing is pale orange and hindwing is grayish-brown
very pale specimens (form "pallida") are seen occasionally
Larva: green with dark dorsal stripe and whitish subdorsal and lateral stripes; head whitish-green with three vertical reddish-brown bars with two white bars between them
Range
Holarctic
(1). Native to Eurasia. It has spread throughout northeastern United States and to every province in Canada. In Washington it was first seen in 2000. It is becoming the most common skipper and considered a threat to
Polites peckius.
Habitat
most abundant in agricultural areas where Timothy Grass is grown for hay, but also present in just about every kind of grassy area in the range, including city parks and gardens, forest trails and clearings, marshes, bog edges, and roadsides in every habitat
Season
adults fly from early June to mid-July in most places (to mid-August in Newfoundland)
Life Cycle
one generation per year; eggs are laid in groups of up to 30 on leaf sheath or seed-heads of host plant; overwinters as an egg - the only North American skipper to do so
Remarks
Accidentally introduced to North America in 1910 at London, Ontario.
(1) (viable eggs were present in imported seeds of Timothy Grass)
Internet References
pinned adult and live larva images plus description, distribution, food plants, biology, flight season, etc. (Butterflies of Canada; CBIF)