The large-chequered skipper

The beautiful large-chequered skipper, with its large, white, black-rimmed spots on the underside of its back wings, is one of the butterfly world’s big stars at Bøtø. It’s pretty much only found in this area, and it has a very short window of activity each year, making it even more difficult and special to find. It becomes active in the last week of June, and six weeks later it’s all over. If you haven’t crossed the large-chequered skipper off your list by then, you’ll have to wait another year for a chance to take its portrait again.

You should, of course, never try to catch or collect large-chequered skippers, but there’s nothing wrong with trying to photograph them, though this can be quite a challenge!