Identifying features
A small skipper with a wingspan of 25–30 mm. Both wing pairs are dark brown with ochre-yellow spots and patches; along the forewing margin is a row of diffuse yellowish-brown spots, with an ochre-yellow band broken into separate spots inside them. The adult butterfly often visits flowers and basks with its wings spread.
Similar species
It can be confused with the female of Northern chequered skipper, but in that one, the ochre-yellow band within the forewing edge is not broken.
Distribution
From Lindesnes in Vest-Agder to Narvik in Nordland, but with significant gaps in its distribution. Most common just inland from the coasts of Agder and Telemark, as well as in Trøndelag. In Eastern Norway, it is found in the inland and southern areas of Østfold, and locally in Hedmark, Buskerud, and Vestfold. In Western Norway, it is locally present in both Rogaland, Hordaland, and in Møre og Romsdal. The species appears to have become more common after 2000.
Biology
The larva feeds on grasses, including brome grasses (Bromus) and Brachypodium. It makes a tube between grass stems and leaves, where it also overwinters.