Another widespread skipper, this species is named after Charles Oberthür who first described it. It is similar to several other pyrgus species but has a reddish underside with pale veins which are usually enough to identify it successfully. It is widespread in Europe and can be common in certain habitats. In an area near Cluj-napoca in Romania it was the commonest skipper species there, where it fed on Yarrow alongside the Safflower Skipper.

Distribution: Southern and central Europe as far north as S Sweden. Absent from the Balearic Islands and some Greek islands.

Flight Period: May-August in 2 broods in the south, late June-July in 1 brood in the north.

Habitat: Light scrub, dry meadows, verges, woodland edges, rocky scrub up to 1700m.

Foodplants: Cinquefoils (Potentilla), Wild Strawberry (Fragaria vesca), rockroses (Cistus).

Nectar Sources: Clovers (Trifolium), Yarrow (Achillea millefolium), Eryngium, Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare), hawkweeds (Hieracium) and various umbelifers (Umbelliferae).

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