Identifying features
Wingspan 22–27 mm. The wings are light to dark yellowish-brown on the upper side, with dark brown margins. The male has a short, angled line of scent scales in the inner half of the forewing; the female lacks this line and is slightly larger and darker.
Similar species
Similar species include Large skipper, silver-spotted skipper, and small skipper. Small skipper, the species most resembling essex skipper, has not yet been found in Sweden. The species can be distinguished by the dark underside of the antennae club, and the male's androconial patch is slightly more than half as long.
Distribution
In Sweden, the species was found only in Scania, Blekinge, and Småland at the end of the 1800s. By the mid-1900s, it had spread north to a line from Bohuslän through Scania, to Östergötland and Södermanland; since the 1970s, it is now found everywhere, including in the Gothenburg area.
Biology
The males are patrolling in their search for newly emerged females. The butterflies are active flower visitors, and mating often occurs on flowers. The flight is usually slow, but during mating, the males display a very fast and whirling flight.