Chequered Skipper vs Velvet Longhorn

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Chequered Skipper Velvet Longhorn
Scientific Name Carterocephalus palaemon Trichoferus campestris
Order Lepidoptera Coleoptera
Family Hesperiidae Cerambycidae
Size 26-32 mm wingspan 10-20 mm
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Omnivores Wood Feeders
Regions Europe, temperate Asia, North America Central Asia; invasive in Europe, North America, Middle East
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Chequered Skipper

A small dark butterfly with bold orange-yellow chequered spots, once found in English woodlands but now confined to western Scotland in Britain. It was successfully reintroduced to England in 2018.

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Did You Know?

It became extinct in England in 1976 but was reintroduced using stock from Belgium four decades later.

Velvet Longhorn

A brownish-grey cerambycid covered in fine velvety pubescence, native to Central Asia but now spreading globally through timber trade. It attacks a wide range of deciduous and coniferous trees. Adults are nocturnal fliers.

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Did You Know?

This beetle has been intercepted in wood packaging materials on every continent except Antarctica.