This species is probably the easiest of the golden skippers to identify, with the  prominent whitish spots on the underside being unique to this butterfly. Like most skippers it flies with a ‘whirring’ motion quite close to the ground usually in dry calcareous meadows. It is confined to southerly coastal areas in Britain but can be found in a wide variety of habitats on the continent.

Distribution: Most of Europe. Absent from S Portugal, SW Spain, N Britain, Ireland, most of Fennoscandia and the Mediterranean islands (except Sicily).

Flight Period: July-September in 1 brood.

Habitat: Warm, dry calcareous meadows, open grassland with bare patches, dry open scrub and alpine meadows up to 2500m.

Floodplants: Primarily fescues (Festuca).

Nectar Sources: Fond of thistles (Cirsium) and knapweeds (Centaurea), but also hawkweeds (Hieracium), Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris), Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) and scabiouses (Knautia). Occasionally mudpuddles.

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