Skipper butterfly on an Echinacea flower, Rockefeller State Park, New York, United States

© Marianne A. Campolongo/Alamy Stock Phot

A blur among the blooms. Skipper butterfly on an Echinacea flower

When it comes to fast flyers with a flair for flowers, the skipper butterfly makes quite the landing. These pint-sized pollinators are easy to miss—until you spot one zipping through your garden as if it's late for an appointment. Catch one pausing on an Echinacea flower—like the one photographed at the Rockefeller State Park in New York, United States—and you've hit the jackpot. Skippers aren't your average butterflies. Technically part of the superfamily Papilionoidea, they're often mistaken for moths thanks to their stout bodies and erratic flight patterns. But unlike moths, they're active by day, have clubbed antennae with a hook at the end and wings they usually hold at quirky angles. Their name? It comes from their quick, darting flight.

There are over 3,500 species worldwide, and they've adapted to environments from meadows to city parks. Some even migrate. Common species found in the United Kingdom include small skipper, Essex skipper, Lulworth skipper and chequered skipper.