David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
________________________________________________________________________Butterflies
12 – Brown Hairstreaks
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (f)
BROWN
HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae
(f)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (m)
BROWN HAIRSTREAK BUTTERFLY Thecla betulae (m)
·
Sightings of the handsome Brown Hairstreak
Butterfly Thecla betulae
can be hard to come by as these insects spend much of their time up in the
treetops where they will feed on honeydew (sugary excretions produced by
aphids). However, in the absence of any honeydew on their master trees they may
occasionally descend to feed on nectar (the photographs of a male feeding on Creeping Thistles Cirsium arvense on 13th
July, a very early date, illustrate this – probably quite rare observations of the
elusive male of this species). Gravid females need to descend to oviposit on Blackthorn Prunus
spinosa or
other Prunus species and consequentially they may be seen closer to the
ground on hot, sunny days. Females will gather at the tops of master trees to
mate and they will then disperse once their eggs have matured. The female
illustrated above appears to be very fresh so it is not known if she would have
been ready to oviposit. She was photographed on a Sallow Salix caprea and
there was no evidence of any attempt at oviposition during the 45-minute period
that she remained there. Such a dispersal strategy will ensure that in-breeding
is limited, and that colonisation can occur at suitable nearby habitats. Their
eggs are large, white, and comparatively conspicuous and looking for them is an
important aspect of confirming the presence (or absence) of this butterfly as a
breeding species when carrying out surveys. There is evidence of recent range expansion
of the Brown Hairstreak from its former strongholds and most of the photographs
shown above were taken at two newly colonised sites in South West London. In
each case these were the photographer’s first sightings at these locations. The
brightly coloured ‘tails’ are designed to deflect the attentions of predatory
birds away from the vital organs in the head and thorax – successfully, it
would seem, in the case of the open-winged female shown above as they are
missing! This image has been scanned from a transparency.
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