Brown Hairstreak
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| Brown Hairstreak | ||||||||||||||
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| Thecla betulae (Linnaeus, 1758) |
The Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Appearance and behaviour
A pretty little butterfly is found along hedges, scrub, and wood edges but is often overlooked since it spends much of its time high in the tree canopy. Like the Purple Emperor this butterfly uses 'master trees', usually European Ash Fraxinus excelsior. Males and unmated females congregate at the tops of isolated trees. Once mated the female decsends to lower levels to begin laying her eggs. males rarely decsend and both feed mainly on honey dew. Both sexes are dark brown on the upperside with orange tails. The female also has a bright orange band across both forwings. The undersides are similar in both sexes and are bright orange with two white streaks.
Lifecycle and foodplants
The female lays her eggs on Blackthorn Prunus spinosa in late August which overwinter, hatching the following spring when the buds are breaking. It has been found that the best way to find breeding sites for this species is to look for the conspicuous white eggs in the winter. The larvae are extremely well camouflaged and feed only at night, remaining motionless during the day. Pupation takes place in leaf litter on the ground in late june or early July and are attractive to ants who will bury them in shallow cells.
[edit] External links
- Butterfly-Conservation Entry
- Field notes from a research study
- Butterfly-guide.co.uk entry
- Jim Asher et al The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland Oxford University Press
- Image of female underside
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