---
title: "Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) · Rampant Scotland"
description: "Graphics via Wikimedia The dark brown Dingy Skipper is widely but patchily distributed across Britain. In Scotland, it occurs further north than any other Skipp"
canonical: "https://rampant-scotland.pages.dev/butterflies/butterfly_dingy_skipper.htm"
last-updated: "2026-11-11"
date-basis: "git-content-change"
---

# Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages) · Rampant Scotland

Butterflies of Scotland

# Dingy Skipper (Erynnis tages)

[Original page](https://web.archive.org/web/20200710070151/http://www.rampantscotland.com:80/butterflies/butterfly_dingy_skipper.htm)

Restored from the raw archived page capture: original scripts, advertisements and shared site navigation removed. Original wording, photographs and layout order preserved.

>

Graphics via [Wikimedia](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page)

 The dark brown Dingy Skipper is widely but patchily distributed across Britain. In Scotland, it occurs further north than any other Skipper, but only in isolated colonies in the region of Inverness. The Dingy Skipper flies from May to August.

Despite its name, the Dingy Skipper has an attractive mottled pattern on its wings, set off by a border of grey hairs round the hind-wing. It looks somewhat like a moth and at night it rests with its wings flat over its body, like a moth. In sunlight it basks with its wings spread out flat.

Dingy Skipper caterpillars feed solely on bird's-foot-trefoil, over-wintering until transforming into the chrysalis form in April and May. The butterflies are on the wing by May and June but live for only about 20 days.

**Return to the Butterfly [Index](https://web.archive.org/web/20200710070151/http://www.rampantscotland.com:80/butterflies/index.htm)

or go to the next Butterfly: [Grayling](https://rampant-scotland.pages.dev/butterflies/butterfly_grayling.htm)**.

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## Source

From Rampant Scotland, restored from the page as it stood on 10 July 2020. [Original page](https://web.archive.org/web/20200710070151/http://www.rampantscotland.com:80/butterflies/butterfly_dingy_skipper.htm).

Links to pages not yet restored here lead to the original page or elsewhere on the web; 1 of 3 links on this page are restored on this site.