H is for hairstreaks

13 Wednesday Dec 2023

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British butterflies, butterfly, Green hairstreak, hairstreak, hairstreak butterflies, Purple hairstreak

H is for hairstreaks, purple and green. For me, 2023 was a particularly good year for Purple hairstreaks. On 21 July, in Purple sheen, I blogged about those I had already seen at Lavernock Nature Reserve and at Casehill Woods, but I was lucky to see them in three more locations, at Ystrad Mynach on 25 July, in Dingle Park on 27 July, and finally one at Cosmeston on 1 August. The photos below are from my Ystrad Mynach encounter, where I almost stood on a Purple hairstreak that had been blown on to the pavement in front of me from its large Oak tree across the narrow busy road, probably by the many passing high-sided trucks. After taking a few photographs, I took the tiny creature back across the road and placed it as near to its tree as I could reach.

231213 purple hairstreak

There are no local places to see Green hairstreaks so I was particularly delighted in June to see my first in four years (A streak of green), at Charlton Kings Common just outside Cheltenham.

231213 green hairstreak

I also enjoyed a lovely encounter with a White-letter hairstreak this year but thought I’d highlight in this blog the Purple (for those special in-the-hand moments) and the Green (for the first sighting in so long).

A streak of green

13 Tuesday Jun 2023

Posted by sconzani in insects

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British butterflies, butterfly, Callophrys rubi, Charlton King's Common, Green hairstreak

I just have to share one more find from my visit last week to Charlton King’s Common in Cheltenham, the gorgeous butterfly that is the Green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). Its green wings provide this creature with such excellent camouflage that I was extremely lucky to spot it. They’re usually found on a favourite perch in a tree, from where they vigorously defend their territory, but this particular Green hairstreak flitted up from the ground as I walked along a narrow path. At first, I wasn’t sure what it was – a small flying creature in my peripheral vision – but I walked on a couple of paces, turned, waited and watched. I saw another flicker of movement and spotted the butterfly sitting on a flower. Fortunately, it stayed still long enough for me to get a few photos before flying up in to the foliage of a nearby tree and disappearing.

230613 green hairstreak

179/365 Butterflying in Somerset, part I

28 Friday Jun 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, insects, nature

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British butterflies, butterflies, butterfly, butterflying, Exmoor ponies, Green hairstreak, Haddon Hill, Heath fritillary

Scenario: Three friends go seeking rare butterflies across the border in England.

190628 Haddon Hill views

First location: Haddon Hill, in Somerset, offering superb views across the surrounding countryside and grazed by Exmoor ponies.

190628 exmoor ponies

Support act: A Green hairstreak. This was a superb spot by Alan almost as soon as we crossed the stile into the reserve, as this gorgeous little butterfly was incredibly well camouflaged sitting on the grass.

190628 green hairstreak

Star attraction: Heath fritillary. What a cracking little butterfly this is, with its elaborate orange and dark brown upperwing markings, and its equally lovely and intricate underwings. Sadly, this is a rare butterfly in Britain these days but it is being helped along by the sterling efforts of Butterfly Conservation and others. Luckily, at this site, Heath fritillaries are very numerous – we must’ve seen at least 25, and they were literally fluttering in the bushes and brambles all around us. One even landed briefly on my hand – an incredibly special moment.

190628 heath fritillary (1) 190628 heath fritillary (2) 190628 heath fritillary (3) 190628 heath fritillary (4) 190628 heath fritillary (5)

135/365 Green hairstreak et al

15 Wednesday May 2019

Posted by sconzani in insects, nature

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Brimstone butterfly, British butterflies, Green hairstreak, Kent butterflies, Peacock butterfly, Small copper, Wall brown, Wall butterfly

I was hoping to see several different butterfly species during our days in Kent but the weather was mostly against us – we had, at various times, gale-force winds, squally rain showers, and batterings of hail, and it was generally quite cool. I was quite hopeful, though, when we arrived at Cliffe Pools on our last day, as the sun came out to play and the paths were mostly enclosed by sheltering trees and low scrub. It was by sheer chance, though, that I managed to spot my first ever Green hairstreaks – two butterflies were swirling around each other, disputing territory, and I immediately realised they were something different.

190515 green hairstreak (1)

Luckily, I kept an eye on them, as their camouflage is so good that they’re incredibly difficult to spot once they’ve landed on a bush.

190515 green hairstreak (3)

Plus, they often do this thing where they angle their wings to one side, presumably to make themselves look even more like a leaf.

190515 green hairstreak (2)

I also saw my first Wall brown butterfly for the year at Cliffe Pools – this was the species I’d seen reports of and was particularly looking for there.

190515 wall brown

At the RSPB nature reserve at Dungeness I also saw my first Small copper for 2019.

190515 small copper

And during the rest of our trip we also saw Peacock, Brimstone, Holly blue, and some of the White species – not a lot really but, though I didn’t get the quantity I expected, we certainly saw quality butterflies.