My butterflying was kind of scuppered by shoddy weather and a torn Achilles tendon, so I only "ticked" one new UK species in 2023, whereas I'd seen several each of the previous seasons.
This year's? Dingy Skipper on the chalky path atop Devil's Dyke Cambs
Even though it was my only "new" butterfly this year, it's a lovely, understated creature, fifty shades of brown, but so what? Look at it!
I mean...they were rather unkind with the name too...
@sciencebase They're a bit like Speckled Wood to me.
@SteelFolk Yes, a wee bit...but without the ocelli. The skippers have those hooked ends to their antennae too, which sets them apart from other butterflies and brings them closer to the burnet moths in some ways...
@sciencebase I hadn't noticed that. Nor on the Burnets. Something for me to look out for, there are loads of both round here in the Summer.
@SteelFolk People often cite feathery and clubbed antenna as being a difference between moths and butterflies, but there's huge overlap. And, as we know, butterflies are a group within the moths, the only difference is one of British-English usage
@sciencebase Are there any butterflies which have huge feathery ones? I can't think of one.
@SteelFolk Literally, the only physiological difference is that butterflies cannot unhook their forewings from their hindwings, moths can. Butterflies are nevertheless a grouping equivalent to the pyralids within the micro moth umbrella. And, the micros are simply evolutionarily older than the macros. Nothing to do with size as some micros are huge and some macros are small. (For the viewers at home)
@SteelFolk No.