Pic 1: This butterfly favours grassy areas, where food plants like this Meadow Thistle, grow in sheltered, often damp, situations and remain tall and uncut.

Pic 3 & 4: Having selected a suitable spot, a male chooses a flat leaf that is sturdy enough to act as a launching pad for his many forays. This is usually just above ground level and is invariably in the sun. Here he sits with wings angled, basking and waiting. He challenges any passing insect with extraordinary force, while rival males are attacked and pursued in violent arial conflicts. These are so rapid that the combatants are hard to see, but so fierce that you can hear the clashing of their wings. The intruder is usually banished, whereupon the victor returns to the same leaf in his territory. If a female Large Skipper flies by, she triggers a rapid courtship flight, culminating in both insects landing 3-4m up in a tree or bush top. An intricate courtship ensures before pairing.

Pic 5: The male has a prominent sex-band on each forewing.

Butterfly Conservation – Large Skipper