Large Chequered Skipper

The length of the forewings is 15–18 mm. The butterfly has a very distinctive and attractive underside but a drab upperside (which is rarely seen, as it usually settles with wings closed). The upper side is quite dark brown and it is the reverse which is characteristic with brown fore wings in part covered by the hind wing and in the visible part the same ornamentation as the hind wings, on an ochre ground three lines of spots white ovals surrounded by black and a white border cut with black.

In France, it has been seen in the south west including, in 2011, the Hautes-Pyrénées department.

The butterfly is on the wing from June to August, depending on the location. The flight is just as distinctive as its appearance and indeed provides immediate identification of the species: it appears to bounce through the air with little sense of direction, almost as if drunk. The larvae feed on Eriophorum, Poa annua, Calamagrostis canescens, Brachypodium and Molinia species (including Molinia coerulea).