Skipper #6
Metisella sp.??
Observed along a sunny trail through woods at Nairobi, Kenya, July 2014.
Skipper butterflies as a group are mostly quite easy to recognize. Like most butterflies they are active mostly by day (diurnal) and have distinct clubs at the tips of the antennae. Looking at the antennae clubs more closely, there is a short, partly hooked appendage. Skippers have this hook, but no other butterfly families do.
Identification to a specific species is difficult, however, because there are many, many species and their rapid flight makes good photographs scarce. There are some very similar species that require microscopic examination of the genitalia to be sure of specific identification.