The Small Skipper is a small, orange butterfly. Adults fly between June and August, feeding on knapweeds and thistles and hovering close to the ground. They can be found on rough grassland, woodland edges, sand dunes, along roadside verges and anywhere else with plenty of grasses. Small Skippers lay their eggs in grasses, close to the leaf node; the caterpillars feed on several common grasses, including Yorkshire Fog and Cock's-foot.
The Small Skipper is russet-brown above, with a dark border and pale fringe to the wing edges. Smaller and plainer than the Large Skipper, it can be distinguished from the very similar Essex Skipper by the brown tips on its antennae - the Essex Skipper has black tips.
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