The dingy skipper (Erynnis tages) is a species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.

Erynnis tages is different from other skippers because of the predominantly monochrome, gray-brown wing coloration and the marbling, which is only present on the upper side of the forewings, as well as a series of small white dots on the wing edge. It is probably the most moth-like British butterfly and normally rests with its wings in a moth-like fashion. This well-camouflaged, brown and grey butterfly can be confused with the grizzled skipper, the Mother Shipton moth or the burnet companion moth. Faded specimens of Carcharodus alceae are distinguished by glass spots in the forewing and by a jagged rear wing edge. A special feature is the restraint of the imagos, which is reminiscent of a deltoid moth with its roof-shaped wings placed one on top of the other.

Th. tages L. (86 c). Forewing grey-brown, with two oblique black bands, which are proximally edged with yellowish grey. A marginal row of small light dots and two apical dots, of which one is transparent. Hindwing black, in quite normal specimens without spots. Throughout Europe and Northern Asia to the Amur. ab. clarus [Caradja, 1895 ab.] are very pale specimens, which may occur everywhere among true tages. — popoviana Nordm. (= sinina Gr.-Grsh.) [now species Erynnis popoviana] (86 c) is hardly more than a synonym; light grey, with a row of white marginal dots and second similar row in the centre, the hindwing with a light discocellular spot. Dauria. Amur, China. — unicolor Frr. [ now subspecies] (86 c) is uniformly brown grey without any markings, Greece and Asia Minor. — cervantes Grasl.[now E. tages ssp. cervantes Graslin, 1836 ] (86 d). Larger and much darker than true tages. The dark bands obsolete or only indicated by black streaks: the marginal dots scarcely visible. South Spain. — Larva green with the head brown and yellow lateral stripe dotted with black: on Eryngium and Lotus, in July and late in the autumn. Pupa green, with reddish abdomen. The butterflies in April and May and again from July onward, everywhere plentiful. They fly low above the ground and like to settle on roads.

Subspecies are little defined and include E. t. unicolor Freyer, 1852 found in Transcaucasia and E. t. baynesi found in the Burren, County Clare, Ireland.

Synonyms: Erynnis morio SCOPOLI, 1763; Erynnis geryon ROTTEMBURG, 1775

The dingy skipper is widespread from the Iberian Peninsula and Ireland in the west to the Pacific in East Asia. In the north, the area boundary follows roughly the 62°N. In Asia, the species penetrates south across the Caucasus to Pakistan, and in China the area boundary is far to the south. In Bavaria, the distribution shows a noticeable change from more or less densely populated areas to regions in which the species is absent over long stretches. In southern Bavaria, the species is concentrated in the Alpine region, the valleys of the Alpine rivers, in particular the Lech and Isar, as well as the areas near the river in the Donaumoos. In Northern Bavaria, the focus is on the Franconian Alb, in parts of the Franconian Keuper-Lias-Land and the Mainfränkische Platten. A secondary focus in the Upper Main hill country leads to scattered evidence along the northeastern border. Here the species occurs from the Vogtland over the Fichtelgebirge to the Upper Palatinate and Bavarian Forest. With the exception of the East Bavarian low mountain range, the occurrence of the dingy skipper coincides with the distribution of limestone areas (Jura and Muschelkalk) or geological features (basalt, gypsum, basic sandstones such as dolomitic arkose). It is widely but patchily distributed across Britain. It occurs further north than any other skipper in Scotland with some isolated colonies in the Inverness region. It is also one of the two skippers to be found in Ireland, again with a patchy distribution but the main strongholds along the western side. It is on the decline in several European countries including the UK and Armenia.

Erynnis tages favours open grassy habitats up to 2,000 metres above sea level. A variety of habitats are used including chalk downland, woodland clearings, coastal dunes, railway lines and waste ground.

The habitats of the dingy skipper are mainly dry and poor grasslands. Extensive grassland with one or two-tier meadows and pastures as well as habitats with little vegetation with raw soil and initial plant communities are also regularly populated. In forests, the imagos fly in very sparse wooded stands or on forest meadows, on the edges of paths and forest edges. The species is also found in fens. Suitable habitats are disturbances such as paths with a dry, warm microclimate.