Chequered skipper  (Carterocephalus palaemon)

In Britain, this butterfly is currently found only in a small part of western Scotland. It was formerly common in England in the East Midlands, with a few records from as far south as Dartmoor. It became extinct in England in 1976 following a prolonged decline that began in the early part of the twentieth century, but accelerated after the 1950s. Elsewhere the species is widely distributed through Europe and Asia, reaching Japan. It also occurs in North America reaching north to Alaska. It is currently in decline in many parts of Europe and is threatened in Japan (4).

In Scotland, the chequered skipper breeds in open grassland. It prefers the edges of woodlands, and most breeding sites tend to occur at the bottom of slopes and at the edges of rivers and lochs (4). In England it inhabited rides and clearings in woodlands, as well as fens and scrubby grasslands (4). It requires the presence of the foodplants of the caterpillar; in Scotland the main foodplant is purple moorgrass (Molinia caerulea), but in England false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum) seemed to have been preferred (4).