Hesperiidae Butterfly (Skipper)

Because of their close resemblance to the moths, a layman often mistook a Hesperiidae butterfly for a moth. But he or she may have a second thought about it since this particular insect is active in daylight, unlike moths which normally fly out at night.

skipper butterfly,Hesperiidae butterfly, butterfly identification
A skipper butterfly basking in the sun

This is a butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae, also known as skipper. They are small or medium in size, with a stocky body and thick thorax (the body region between the head and abdomen). An easy way to identify them is when they are basking for many do so with one pair of wing folded and another pair outstretched. In addition many have a characteristic antenna whereby the tip is bent outward as seen in the picture above. They appear to skip from place to place due to their rapid and short flight, hence the common name skipper.

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