Small Heath
Coenonympha pamphilus
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Never once seen with its wings open — it always settles closed, and always tilted towards the sun.
A small, pale tawny-orange butterfly of dry, short, unimproved grassland — heath, dunes, old quarries and thin verges. The upperside is rarely seen because the butterfly always rests with its wings shut, showing a grey-brown underside with a single small black eyespot near the forewing tip. Small heaths have declined nationally and are a conservation priority.
Behaviour
It always perches with wings closed, and tilts its body so the wings catch the sun side-on — a way of warming up without exposing the brighter upperside. The flight is low, weak and jerky, seldom more than a few inches above the turf. Caterpillars feed on fine grasses, and the species has declined sharply as unimproved short grassland has been lost.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Browns (Nymphalidae, subfamily Satyrinae)
- Wingspan
- 3–3.5 cm
- Status
- Native; a conservation priority after steep national decline
Photo by Ivar Leidus, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons