Small heath
Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It is placed in the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Papilionoidea, subfamily Satyrinae, tribe Satyrini and genus Coenonympha.
Quick facts about the small heath
The species was named by Linnaeus in 1758 and is also called the small heath butterfly.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 2.2 cm – 3.3 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified, shrubland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- February to Novembersrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc for Generations a year
- Larval food plants
- Poaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the small heath?
Photos of the small heath
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the small heath live?
Not recorded
What is the small heath?
The small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus) is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae, classified within the subfamily Satyrinae (commonly known as "the browns"). It is the smallest butterfly in this subfamily. The small heath is diurnal and flies with a noticeable fluttering flight pattern near the ground. It rests with closed wings when not in flight. It is widespread in colonies throughout the grasslands of Eurasia and north-western Africa, preferring drier habitats than other Coenonympha, such as salt marshes, alpine meadows, wetlands, and grasslands near water (i.e. streams). However, habitat loss caused by human activities has led to a decline in populations in some locations.
The larval host plants are grasses, found in various habitats, while adult butterflies feed on nectar from flowers. The males of this species are territorial, which plays a large role in obtaining a female mate. To establish dominance, they partake in lekking, a mating display in which males aggregate in a competitive display to attract passing females.
From the Wikipedia article “Small heath (butterfly)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Small_heath_%28butterfly%29&oldid=1367671068), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the small heath endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the small heath classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyNymphalidae
- genusCoenonympha
- SpeciesCoenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coenonympha addenda, Coenonympha aestivalis, Coenonympha alba, Coenonympha albata, Coenonympha albula, Coenonympha amaryllides, Coenonympha antelatecana, Coenonympha antelyllus, Coenonympha antipunctata, Coenonympha arenosa, Coenonympha asiaemontium, Coenonympha atlantea, Coenonympha australis, Coenonympha balearica, Coenonympha barcinonis, Coenonympha bicolor, Coenonympha biocellata, Coenonympha bipertita, Coenonympha bipunctata, Coenonympha bipupillata, Coenonympha caeca, Coenonympha caecaella, Coenonympha centralasiae, Coenonympha centralis, Coenonympha corinnaeformis, Coenonympha detersa, Coenonympha eburnea, Coenonympha emiaustralis, Coenonympha emilyllus, Coenonympha eupompus, Coenonympha euxina, Coenonympha ferghana, Coenonympha ferrea, Coenonympha fulvolactea, Coenonympha galvagnii, Coenonympha gardetta, Coenonympha gigas, Coenonympha havelaari, Coenonympha hispana, Coenonympha impupillata, Coenonympha infraaestivalis, Coenonympha infrarasa, Coenonympha juldusica, Coenonympha latecana, Coenonympha latenigrata, Coenonympha latevittata, Coenonympha lineigera, Coenonympha londinii, Coenonympha lyllides, Coenonympha lylliformis, Coenonympha major, Coenonympha marginata, Coenonympha maritima, Coenonympha menalcas, Coenonympha multipuncta, Coenonympha murina, Coenonympha neca, Coenonympha nephele, Coenonympha nigrita, Coenonympha nigromarginata, Coenonympha nitidissima, Coenonympha nolckeniana, Coenonympha nosalica, Coenonympha obsoleta, Coenonympha ocellata, Coenonympha orantia, Coenonympha pallescens, Coenonympha pallida, Coenonympha pamphile, Coenonympha pamphilus australis, Coenonympha pamphilus centralis, Coenonympha pamphilus f. rhoumensis, Coenonympha pamphilus lyllus, Coenonympha pamphilus rhoumensis, Coenonympha pamphilus sicula, Coenonympha postaustralis, Coenonympha postbarcinonis, Coenonympha postcentralis, Coenonympha postemiaustralis, Coenonympha posteuxina, Coenonympha postferrea, Coenonympha postgalvagnii, Coenonympha postlondinii, Coenonympha rhoumensis, Coenonympha scota, Coenonympha semilyllus, Coenonympha sicula, Coenonympha siculella, Coenonympha tardenota, Coenonympha thanatos, Coenonympha thyrsides, Coenonympha torrida, Coenonympha transiens, Coenonympha tunioti, Coenonympha unicolor, Coenonympha venata, Coenonympha virginalis, Papilio lyllus, Papilio pamphilus, Satyrus nephele, Satyrus pamphilus
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- Small heath butterflyEnglish
- Дребнооко сатирчеBulgarian
- Lleonada comunaCatalan
- okáč poháňkovýCzech
- Gweirlöyn Bach y WaunWelsh
- Gweirloynod Bach y WaunWelsh
- Gul randøjeDanish
- Almindelig dværgøjeDanish
- Almindelig dværgrandøjeDanish
- Okkergul randøjeDanish
- Kleines WiesenvögelchenGerman
- Kleiner HeufalterGerman
- Κοινή κοινονύμφηGreek
- NíspolaSpanish
- Kollakas AasasilmikEstonian
- keltaniittyperhonenFinnish
- ProcrisFrench
- Fadet communFrench
- Fraochán beagIrish
- dealbhan beag an fhraoichScottish Gaelic
- dealbhanan beaga an fhraoichScottish Gaelic
- Mali okašCroatian
- Obični okašCroatian
- Kis szénalepkeHungarian
- Ninfa minoreItalian
- PanfilaItalian
- チャイロヒメヒカゲJapanese
- Klengen HeefalterLuxembourgish
- Gelsvasis SatyriukasLithuanian
- Parastais sīksamtenisLatvian
- engringvingeNorwegian Bokmål
- HooibeestjeDutch
- engringvengNorwegian Nynorsk
- Strzępotek ruczajnikPolish
- Сенница памфилRussian
- Сенница обыкновеннаяRussian
- fiskesgieddebeaiveloddiNorthern Sami
- očkáň pohánkovýSlovak
- mali okarčekSlovenian
- Обична нимфаSerbian
- kamgräsfjärilSwedish
- Çalı PerisiTurkish
- Küçük Zıpzıp PerisiTurkish
- Прочанок ПамфілUkrainian
Relatives of the small heath
Other species in the same genus Coenonympha.
Pearly heath
Coenonympha arcania
Scarce heath
Coenonympha hero
False Ringlet
Coenonympha oedippus
Large heath
Coenonympha tullia
Dusky heath
Coenonympha dorus
Corsican heath
Coenonympha corinna
CompareSmall heath vs Pearly heathSmall heath vs Scarce heathSmall heath vs False RingletSmall heath vs Large heath
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the small heath?
The small heath is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, in the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the small heath?
Its scientific name is Coenonympha pamphilus.
Who named the small heath and when?
It was named by Linnaeus in 1758, written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
What family does the small heath belong to?
The small heath belongs to the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Satyrinae and tribe Satyrini.
What is another name for the small heath?
It is also called the small heath butterfly.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/coenonympha-pamphilus
“Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/coenonympha-pamphilus.
@misc{coenonympha_pamphilus_2026,
title = {Small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/coenonympha-pamphilus},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}