Small Heath

C. pamphilus. Small butterflies which on the upper side are the colour of reddish yellow sand. Forewing beneath reddish yellow, bordered with grey and bearing a small pupilled apical ocellus; hindwing diluted with grey, with a shortened, curved, whitish median band shaded with brown. The ocelli are generally completely absent or only indicated by faint and indistinct vestiges of dots or rings. — The ground-colour of the hindwing of the Northern form, pamphilus L. (= nephele Hbn., menaleas Poda, gardetta Loche) (48 g) is mouse grey beneath; it is the only form in the North, and extends throughout North and Central Europe to Anterior Asia, Turkestan, Ferghana and Persia. — In ab. bipupillata Cosm. the apical ocellus is greatly enlarged and doubly pupilled. — marginata Stgr. (48 g) has a very broad dark distal margin on all the wings, but its underside resembles that of lyllus. (A broadening of the blackish distal margin occurs in the summer brood in many localities.) — lyllus Esp. is the summer form from Southern Europe, North Africa and the southern part of Anterior Asia. In this form the wings are broader, the apex of the forewing is more rounded, the margin of the hindwing often undulating, the underside of the hindwing not mouse-grey but also sandy yellow with a fine, curved, median line. — In Thyrsides Stgr. …

The small heath is spread throughout the Western Palearctic, particularly in Europe where it has been reported in at least 40 different countries since 2002. It is commonly found in the United Kingdom, largely in England and Wales. Populations are also found in southwest Siberia, regions of Asia, and north Africa. As a grasslands species, the small heath prefers open habitats with shorter grass compared to other related species. It is also found in an extensive range of environments including meadows, heaths, mountains (in the subalpine zone), and alongside railways. It has been sighted in calcareous grasslands throughout nineteen countries in Europe. For mating and oviposition, small heath butterflies prefer territories that are close to vegetation over areas that are open and clear. The small heath also resides in biodiverse patches of green habitats (i.e. greenways, gardens, and parks) in urban areas. These fragments create less-isolated corridors throughout cities, which help butterflies disperse throughout this habitat.

As a grassland species, the effects of intense, widespread agriculture is a concern for the welfare of the small heath. Grassland management through periodic ecological disturbances (i.e. mowing) is considered necessary to maintain "semi-natural" grasslands. Negative effects of mowing include the loss of biodiversity, the conversion of natural grasslands into agricultural fields, mortality, and loss of nectar resources. However, a study shows that such disturbances of these habitats may actually lead to an increase in the population of grassland butterflies including the small heath.