Thymelicus lineola (Ochs.) Essex Skipper
p37. Resident, widespread and locally common. This species has a similar habitat requirement to
T. lineola, and the two species are often found flying together. It is particularly abundant on parts of
the coast and estuaries. First discovered as a British species at St Osyth in 1888 (Hawes, 1890),
hence its vernacular name.
Hesperia comma (Linn.) Silver-spotted Skipper
p132. The Victoria County History refers to old records at Danbury (which the Guide thought
doubtful) and in the Saffron Walden district. There is another from Grays. The only subsequent
record concerns a female labelled 51: "Hallingbury 29. vii. 1926", in the H. Mace collection in
Harlow Museum, which may well have been a wanderer from the former Hertfordshire breeding
grounds.
Ochlodes venata (Brem. & Grey) Large Skipper
p37. Resident, widespread and common. Except that it is generally less numerous than
T. sylvestris, the remarks given under that species apply equally to this one.
Erynnis tages (Linn.) Dingy Skipper
p37. Resident, local and scarce. An inhabitant of dry grassland and heathland, woodland clearings
and railway embankments, this species has been declining in Essex for a number of years. Never very
widespread, it has lost ground as a result of loss of, or changes in, its habitat, and now appears to be
very scattered. 69 near Brentwood, colony, 1978 (APMcC); 89 Hockley, 1974 (SO).
Pyrgus malvae (Linn.) Grizzled Skipper
p37. Resident, local and scarce. Found in much the same types of terrain as the last species, this
butterfly has also declined markedly due to habitat destruction or deterioration, and is still losing
ground. The Guide stated that surviving colonies were still too numerous to list, but the map shows
that they are now largely confined to the Brentwood, Danbury and Colchester districts, and the
Rochford Hundred. The only post-Guide records away from these areas are : 49 Theydon Bois,
two. 1970 (TWG); Hainault Forest, colony, 1976 (RN); 63 Hempstead, 1984 (DCJ); 79 Wickford,
1976. habitat since destroyed (FE).
PAPILIONIDAE
Swallowtails are a cosmoplitan family of large butterflies - there is only one British species. The adults
have three pairs of functional legs, the inner margin of the hindwing is slightly concave and the tips of
the antennae curve outwards. The larva of the British species feeds on the leaves of some
umbelliferous plants. The pupa overwinters, held on a stem by a pad of silk and a silk girdle.
Papilio machaon Linn. The Swallowtail
p24. Migrant, very rare. Eight records between 1925 and 1950 but none since. Those examined
during that period were assigned to the continental subspecies bigeneratus Ver.*. 61 High Roding,
one in July 1945 (per FEB) is additional to those records given in the Guide.
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