Lulworth skipper form discrete colonies, with the largest containing up to 100,000 individuals. In the novel "The Return of the Native", by Thomas Hardy, a possible reference is made to Lulworth skippers in the "strange amber-coloured butterflies" which "were never seen elsewhere." Lulworth skipper The Lulworth skipper ("Thymelicus acteon") is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. Its name is derived from Lulworth Cove in the county of Dorset, England, where the first specimens in Great Britain were collected in 1832 by English naturalist James Charles Dale. The species occurs locally across Central Europe, Asia Minor and North Africa, where its population is
Lulworth skipper the "Thymelicus" genus. Of Britain's five "golden" skippers—the others being the silver-spotted skipper ("Hesperia comma"), large skipper ("Ochlodes sylvanus"), small skipper ("Thymelicus sylvestris") and Essex skipper ("Thymelicus lineola")—the Lulworth is both the smallest and darkest. Beyond its small size, it is distinguished particularly by its dark, dun-coloured wings that appear with tinges of olive-brown; this darkening especially apparent in males. Variations are known to occur; in north-west Africa, the uppersides of the forewing and hindwing are darker, with hints of greenish or greyish brown. Similarly-coloured races occur in Spain, Elba, Crete, and other eastern Mediterranean islands. "T. acteon christi", endemic