CreatureData

Small skipper

Thymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) is a species in the family Hesperiidae, order Lepidoptera.

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Quick facts about the small skipper

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
2.4 cm – 2.9 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Nectarivoresrc for Diet
Main food
flowerssrc for Main food
Habitat
grassland, shrubland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
On the wing
April to Septembersrc for On the wing
Generations a year
Onesrc 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 skipper?

SMALL SKIPPER · WINGSPAN 2.9 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 2.9 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the small skipper is about 1.7% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the small skipper live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the small skipper as introduced in 1 country.

  1. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the small skipper 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 skipper classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyHesperiidae
  6. genusThymelicus
  7. SpeciesThymelicus sylvestris (Poda, 1761)

Synonyms Adopaea flava iberica, Adopaea fulminans, Adopaea lategrisea, Adopaea latenigra, Adopaea macta, Adopaea major, Adopaea maxima, Adopaea pallida, Adopaea pallidavirescens, Adopaea pallidiscus, Adopaea reversa, Adopaea suffusa, Adopaea suffusavirescens, Adopaea sylvestris, Adopaea thaumas, Adopaea thaumatana, Adopoea flava, Adopoea pallida, Hesperia antiardens, Hesperia linea, Hesperia thaumas, Papilio comma, Papilio divaricatus, Papilio flava, Papilio flavus, Papilio flavus, Papilio linea, Papilio sylvestris, Papilio thaumas, Papilio venula, Thymelicus flava, Thymelicus sylvestris ibericus, Thymelicus sylvestris sylvestris, Thymelicus thaumas

Other names and names in other languages (42)
  • نطاطة صغيرةArabic
  • Penneg tastorn orañjezBreton
  • Daurat de punta taronjaCatalan
  • soumračník metlicovýCzech
  • Gwibiwr BachWelsh
  • Gwibwyr BachWelsh
  • Mark-bredpandeDanish
  • Okkergul bredpandeDanish
  • SkråstregbredpandeDanish
  • Ockergelber Braun-DickkopffalterGerman
  • Braunkolbiger Braun-DickkopffalterGerman
  • Braunkolbiger BraundickkopffalterGerman
  • Ockergelber BraundickkopffalterGerman
  • Dorada Línea LargaSpanish
  • Dorada de Puntas ClarasSpanish
  • Aruheina-viirgpunnpeaEstonian
  • etelänhiipijäFinnish
  • etelänlauhahiipijäFinnish
  • Bande noireFrench
  • Hespérie de la houqueFrench
  • Brúnoker GroukopkeWestern Frisian
  • נחושת הנשרןHebrew
  • הספרית הנשרןHebrew
  • Srebreni debeloglavacCroatian
  • Barna busalepkeHungarian
  • Esperide silvestreItalian
  • Raudonbuožis StorgalvisLithuanian
  • Brūndzeltenais pļavas resngalvītisLatvian
  • okersmygerNorwegian Bokmål
  • GeelsprietdikkopjeDutch
  • Karłątek leśnyPolish
  • karłątek ceglastyPolish
  • Douradinha-silvestrePortuguese
  • Толстоголовка жёлтаяRussian
  • Толстоголовка лесовикRussian
  • Толстоголовка сельскаяRussian
  • súmračník metlicovýSlovak
  • dolgočrti debeloglavčekSlovenian
  • stor tåtelsmygareSwedish
  • större tåtelsmygareSwedish
  • Sarı Antenli ZıpzıpTurkish
  • Головчак лісовийUkrainian

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistTAXREFWikidata

Relatives of the small skipper

Other species in the same genus Thymelicus.

CompareSmall skipper vs Essex skipperSmall skipper vs Lulworth skipperSmall skipper vs Levantine skipperSmall skipper vs Moroccan small skipper

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the small skipper?

An adult small skipper has a wingspan of 2.4 cm – 2.9 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What does the small skipper eat?

Its recorded main food is flowers.

Is the small skipper an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the small skipper as introduced in 1 country: United States, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the small skipper?

The small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) belongs to the family Hesperiidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-skipper

MLA

“Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-skipper.

BibTeX
@misc{small_skipper_2026,
  title = {Small skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/small-skipper},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}