Every flap of this butterfly's wings is a symphony! "Thymelicus", in fact, comes from the Greek "thymelikos" which means "musical", while "acteon" closely reminds of the myth of Actaeon: the Greek legend guilty of having watched the goddess Artemis while bathing and, for this reason, transformed by her into a deer.
Actaeon did not notice the transformation until he could see his reflection in the water and Thymelicus Acteon shares the same attraction for the springs and the calm waters mirroring its beauty. How tender is this cutie! Acteon is common in all regions of Italy, except Sardinia. Its small size varies from 2.1 to 2.4 cm wingspan. This butterfly belongs to the Hesperiidae family, which includes all small butterflies, characterized by evenly colored wings, ranging from dark brown to orange-yellow ochre with light spots and banding, and by these huge eyes that make them particularly attractive and tender, just as if they came straight out of a manga comic! Oh, by the way, did you know that the eye of the butterfly is actually a compound eye? This means that each eye actually consists of lots of other tiny eyes called "ommatidia".