The difference between the
oriental and tufted skipper is hard to determine. The wings of the oriental skipper are slightly brighter, brownish gray on the upper side. The white fields on the lower side are less pronounced, but for the undoubted identification it is necessary to extract the genitalia of the male. Males on the underside of the front wings have hairs that can be distinguished from a smaller and more common
mellow skipper. Its habitats include dry, limestone-rocky habitats and steppe, where the caterpillars develop on plants from the genus
Stachys. It inhabits the southern and central parts of the Balkan Peninsula, a small part of Romania and Hungary, Ukraine, European Russia and the surrounding areas of Asia. In Serbia, it is recorded only in the vicinity of Zajecar, Trgovište and the Pčinja valley.