Skipper?

[paul m]

Anyone know about butterflies: I think this is a grizzled skipper Pyrgus malvae but the patterning looks a little different from what I'd expect. Taken one August in a garden near Nafplion, Greece.

[Guy F]

The European Skippers really confuse me, I'm not sure what the key points are when id'ing them and to me skippers in the genuses Pyrgus and Spialia all look very similar. I think shots of the underside of the wings is useful.
However, the almost complete band on the hindwing and the thick white margin on this butterfly give something to work on, and I think it looks most like a Sage Skipper - Muschampia proto.
I've got quite a few unidentified skipper photos from my holidays abroad.
Guy

[paul m]

Thanks for the thoughts - sounds as if we're both in need of a serious lepidopterist.
One of the reasons I don't go deeply into butterflies is because I'm not convinced of the taxonomy. Butterflies, European ones especially, seem to exist in monospecific genera - every butterfly seems to have its own genus! Indeed, some of the species are not very convincing and I suspect that some would be lumped together if they were beetles!

Originally Posted by Guy F

The European Skippers really confuse me, I'm not sure what the key points are when id'ing them and to me skippers in the genuses Pyrgus and Spialia all look very similar. I think shots of the underside of the wings is useful.
However, the almost complete band on the hindwing and the thick white margin on this butterfly give something to work on, and I think it looks most like a Sage Skipper - Muschampia proto.
I've got quite a few unidentified skipper photos from my holidays abroad.
Guy

[goosey]

Hi Paul , I think Guy could be right with Sage skipper - Muschampia proto. They are found in Greece and Spain in flower and scrub areas and favour Phlomis species.