Wingspan: 27–30 mm
Flight period: in one generation from May to August
Host plants of caterpillars: species from the grass family (f. Poaceae)
The short-tailed skipper (Thymelicus lineola) is a small butterfly, although it actually belongs among the larger representatives of the skipper family. The upperside of its wings is brown-orange with a golden sheen, along the edge of the wings runs a broad black border, which seamlessly transitions into the orange color of the wings. The underside is orange-brown with a greenish luster on the hindwings. In appearance it is extremely similar, by a shade larger, to the long-tailed skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris). Although the males of the short-tailed skipper have a band of scented hairs on the midline of the upper side of the forewings thinner and shorter, it can be reliably distinguished from the long-tailed skipper only by the black-coloured underside of the palps.
The short-tailed skipper is an inhabitant of flowering grasslands with tall grasses, which it usually shares with its larger relative. It frequents cultivated meadows, shrub-covered slopes, forest clearings and fields. In our country it is a common and widespread butterfly, that flies from sea level to high mountains.
