Olive Skipper
Pyrgus serratulae
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Switzerland, June 2008
I think I've seen a lot of olive skippers but I haven't always been confident of identifying them. In principle, it is relatively easy - the weakly marked upperside hindwing, the olive green colour of the underside hindwing and the characteristic pattern of the white marks, notably the clear white oval near the costa of the hindwing, all add up to a distinctive butterfly. But Pyrgus isn't always as easy in the field as in the head! That said, I am 100% confident the butterfly in the photograph above is an olive skipper.
It is a southern butterfly, enjoying hot grassland and scrub at valley level or hot south-facing slopes in the mountains. I have seen it in Switzerland and Spain.