(Linnaeus, 1758)
Purple Hairstreak
Description:
The Purple Hairstreak is only found where there are oaks growing, because oak is its only food plant. It occurs in oakwoods or oak scrub, and also on large, solitary oak trees. Although the butterflies need food, they do not visit flowers. Instead, they remain near the tree, looking for leaves with a layer of honeydew left behind by aphids. This sugary secretion is the butterflies' most important source of energy.
The eggs are laid at the base of the buds. The small caterpillar has developed by the time winter comes, but it remains in the egg, emerging in the spring to feed on the buds and also on the flowers of the oak. It does not eat the leaves. When mature, the caterpillars leave the food plant, and pupate in the moss layer.
The Purple Hairstreak has one generation a year.
Habitat:
Mixed woodland
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Laeosopis roboris