This marker on the Cambridge Butterfly Trail is at Nuns Way recreation ground – see the map above.

The Small skipper is a fast-flying, golden-orange butterfly found in grassy habitats across southern and central parts of the UK from June to August. It favours meadows, field margins and roadside verges, where males perch on tall grasses to watch for passing females.

It can easily be confused with the Essex skipper and the slightly larger Large skipper. One reliable way to tell them apart is by the antennae tips: the Small skipper has orange-brown undersides, while the Essex skipper’s are black. The Large skipper, by contrast, is more heavily patterned and stockier.

Female Small skippers lay eggs on fine grasses such as Yorkshire fog, and the caterpillars live hidden inside rolled grass blades. This butterfly thrives in uncut, flower-rich grasslands and is a good indicator of healthy meadows. However, it remains sensitive to habitat loss and changes in grassland management practices.

For more information, please visit Butterfly Conservation’s page on this species – Small skipper.