This is a time that is hard on photographers of a certain age who creak when they stoop and ache when they try to move fast on their knees alone – it’s Small-Butterfly-Season. This ¾-inch neighbor on a buttercup is one of our many Skippers, a family of butterflies that look like a cross between Jiminy Cricket and a paper airplane.

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They quickly skip from place to place, hence their name and our curse. Another problem with Skippers is that there are more than 3,500 species of them and, we’re informed, many can’t be told apart unless they’re dissected and their genitals are studied closely. No thanks.

Our best guess is that this is a Least Skipper (Ancyloxypha numitor) that is either male or female. (Brooklin, Maine)

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