Identifying features
Medium-sized skipper with a wingspan of 34–44 mm; generally smaller than large wall brown, but the two species overlap in size. The upper side has a brown base colour. The female has a backward-extending, ochre-yellow patch near the front wing tip; this is absent in the male. At the tip of the front wing, there is a large, yellow-edged eye spot, often with a pair of small eye spots beside it. Between the wing base and the large eye spot, there are several narrow, often faint, dark brown cross-stripes – this distinguishes it from large wall brown. The hindwing has 3–5 yellow-edged eye spots along the edge. The underside of the front wing is brownish-yellow with a grey edge; the underside of the hindwing is grey-brown.
Similar species
It closely resembles large wall brown (Lasiommata maera), with which it is often found. Northern wall brown is slightly smaller, flies earlier and has more dark transverse stripes along the forewing’s leading edge. When the two species are seen together, northern wall browns are usually old and worn, while large wall browns are newly emerged with fresh colours.
Distribution
Found in Northern Europe and in mountainous areas further south: the Alps, the Pyrenees, and the mountain ranges in the Balkans; eastward to the Amur. In Norway, it is relatively common, but local, north to Møre and Romsdal, with single findings as far north as Alta in Finnmark.
Biology
Larval food and life cycle are not described in the examined sources.