Dingy Skipper Erynnis tages
Essentially a spring butterfly found in small colonies in a wide range of habitats. Especially south facing downlands where the ground cover is short and the surface has been broken up somewhat by livestock.
Its main food plant being common bird’s-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) although on some sites they use horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis comosa).
The eggs are laid singly, and the caterpillar hatches after about a fortnight. It then feeds throughout the summer and is fully grown by August when it weaves some leaves together where it hibernates for the winter, forming a chrysalis the following April, before emerging in mid-May.
Aberrations
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