Green Hairstreak - a photo on Flickriver

Green Hairstreak

www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=rubi

Green Hairstreak
Callophrys rubi (KA-loh-friss ROO-by)
Green Hairstreak - Heyshott Escarpment, Sussex 12-May-2015
Photo © Neil Hulme
Wingspan
27 - 34mm
Checklist Number
61.005

Family:LycaenidaeLeach, 1815
Subfamily:TheclinaeButler, 1869
Tribe:EumaeiniDoubleday, 1847
Genus:CallophrysBillberg, 1820
Subgenus:
Species:rubi(Linnaeus, 1758)

Introduction

This butterfly is the most widespread of our hairstreaks. However, it is also a local species, forming distinct colonies which can be as small as a few dozen individuals, although other colonies can be much larger. Both sexes always settle with their wings closed, the brown uppersides only ever being seen in flight. The undersides, by contrast, provide the illusion of being green, an effect produced by the diffraction of light on a lattice-like structure found within the wing scales, which provides excellent camouflage as the butterfly rests on a favourite perch, such as a Hawthorn branch. This butterfly will also regulate its body temperature by tilting its wings appropriately to catch the sun's rays. This butterfly is found throughout the British Isles - partly due to the wide variety of foodplants it uses, and the wide range of habitats it frequents. However, it is absent from the Isle of Man, Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland.
Callophrys rubi
This species was first defined in Linnaeus (1758) as shown here (type locality: Sweden).

Conservation Status

Both distribution and population trends show a decline and the conservation status of this butterfly is kept under review as a result.

Habitat
This butterfly can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including hillsides, moorland, chalk downland, heathland, railway embankments and valley bottoms. A common feature of all these habitats is the presence of scrubby plants and hedgerows.
This species has the widest range of foodplants of any British species, which includes Bilberry, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Broom, Common Rock-rose, Dogwood, Bramble and Gorse.

Life Cycle

There is one brood each year, the butterfly typically being seen from mid-April to the end of June, depending on location. Emergence is typically later in more northern sites where this butterfly may be on the wing into early July.

Imago

The male of this species is territorial and will have favourite perching sites that it uses to wait for passing females, but will dart out to investigate any passing object. The perches may be on standalone shrubs or part of a hedge and are often reused by different males should the original occupants wander too far. The female, on the other hand, spends most of her time away from the male territories, searching out nectar sources and foodplants on which to lay her eggs.
Adults feed primarily on Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Honeydew / Sap and Privet (Ligustrum vulgare).

Ovum

Eggs are laid singly on the foodplant and are a very pale green when first laid, but darken after a few days. Eggs are typically laid on the tenderest shoots or on flower buds. Eggs hatch after a week or two.

Larva

Like the larvae of other Lycaenids, the larva is shaped like a woodlouse. On hatching, the new larva often bores into the tender buds to feed, whereas later instars feed on young leaves and shoots, avoiding more matures leaves altogether. The larvae are cannibalistic after their first moult.
The primary larval foodplants are Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), Broom (Cytisus scoparius), Common Rock-rose (Helianthemum nummularium), Dyer's Greenweed (Genista tinctoria) and Gorse (Ulex europeaus). Bramble (Rubus fruticosus), Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica), Cross-leaved Heath (Erica tetralix) and Dogwood (Cornus sanguinea) are also used.

Pupa

Like many other Lycaenids, this species benefits from an association with ants that provide it a level of protection and this association extends to the pupal stage. Pupae have been found in the wild covered in particles of soil, believed to have been put there by ants that are attracted to the pupa. Pupae have also been found deep inside ant nests. It has also been suggested that the pupa is formed at the base of plants among ground litter, occasionally attached to a dead leaf by a silken girdle. However, there appears to be little evidence that this is normal behaviour in the wild.
The Green Hairstreak hibernates as a pupa, which distinguishes it from all other hairstreaks found in the British Isles, which all hibernate as eggs.
An interesting characteristic of the pupa of this species, in common with other Lycaenids, is that the pupa is able to make a sound that is attractive to ants, a phenomenon first discovered in 1774. The noises produced by the pupa when it is disturbed are exceptionally loud and audible to the human ear.

Taken in: UK / England / Rossendale District / Helmshore (show map)

Taken on: April 15, 2020

Sets appears in: • Rossendale Wildlife • Nikon P900 Wildlife more » • British Wildlife • Rossendale • Lancashire • Group 2 « less

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Camera: NIKON COOLPIX P900, f/3.5, 1/800 sec, 10.7mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	NIKON COOLPIX P900
Aperture:	f/3.5
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/800)
Focal Length:	10.7mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Gain Control:	High gain down
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Windows Photo Editor 10.0.10011.16384
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