Bug FAQSmall Heath
Coenonympha pamphilus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Small Heath Butterfly
The small heath is the tiniest brown butterfly, with reddish-yellow upper wings and a small eye-spot on the forewing underside. It lives in dry grasslands, salt marshes, alpine meadows and other open habitats across most of Europe, western Asia and north-west Africa. Caterpillars eat grasses while adults sip nectar from flowers such as bramble, yarrow and ragwort, and the species can have several generations each year.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Upper side is reddish-yellow like sand; underside of forewing is reddish-yellow with a grey border and a small eye-spot; hindwing underside is grey with a short, curved white band shaded brown.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
It is the smallest butterfly in the Satyrinae subfamily.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on various grasses; adults feed on nectar from many flowers, including bramble, yarrow and ragwort.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Produces multiple generations per year (plurivoltine). Young females lay many yellow eggs early in life, while older females lay fewer, yellower eggs.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Flies low and slowly, often seen in towns, gardens and even on pavement. On the wing from late April to October across meadows, fields and hilltops.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Widespread across the Western Palearctic, especially Europe, reported in at least 40 countries since 2002. Common in the United Kingdom (England and Wales), also in southwest Siberia, parts of Asia and north Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Looks like a small meadow brown but with noticeably paler brown wings in flight. Similar to Coenonympha caeca (no forewing apical spot), C. tullia (smaller forewing spot) and C. symphita (no white hindwing spot, full row of forewing spots).
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
What plants do the caterpillars eat?
Caterpillars feed on grasses found in their habitats.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see them?
Adults are active from late April through October and often fly low over gardens and fields.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_heath_%28butterfly%29
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.