Mallow skipper
The mallow skipper can produce two or three generations in a single year, and its caterpillars build a folded leaf shelter on mallow plants before pupating inside it.
| Where | Dry open ground and forest edges |
|---|---|
| Size | 28 to 32 mm wingspan |
| When | April to September |
The Mallow Skipper is a small brown butterfly with a pinkish brown tinge, squared pale spots on the forewing and a toothed hindwing margin. The underside hindwing is grey brown with a paler central spot.
It flies from April to September in two or three overlapping generations, favouring dry open ground, roadsides and forest edges. Caterpillars feed on mallow plants, folding a leaf with silk to form a shelter in which they later pupate.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Brown, White
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; it is a fast, low flying butterfly often seen visiting mallow flowers.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar size at 28 to 34 mm wingspan, but paler and more ash grey below with faint, indistinct hindwing bands, compared with the more contrasting brown and white pattern of the Mallow Skipper.
Questions
Is the Mallow skipper dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; it is a fast, low flying butterfly often seen visiting mallow flowers.
When can you see the Mallow skipper?
The Mallow skipper can be seen from April to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Joris Egger, CC BY‑SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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Butterflies and moths›Skippers›Carcharodus
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.