Hairstreaks in Sussex

The Hairstreaks have always held a fascination for me. They are an attractive group of butterflies within the Lycaenidae family and you need to hone your fieldcraft skills in order to find and get close to them.

 All five species of British Hairstreaks can be found in Sussex. Two of them are common and widespread within the county, two are much more localised in their distribution and one is in the county probably as a result of an unauthorised introduction.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)

This lovely species is common and widespread in Sussex and can be found in a variety of habitats. Unlike our other hairstreaks, it is not really a canopy dweller and can invariably be spotted at head height along woodland rides, gorse patches on the downs and on heathland.

(male)

(mating pair, male on right)

(female)

(male)

Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus)

Another common and widespread species in Sussex, quercus is predominantly a woodland canopy dweller. However, it can be found and approached with stealth, low down along woodland rides at certain times of the day. 

(females)

(mating)

(males)

(female, ab. flavimaculatus)

Brown Hairstreak (Thecla betulae)

This species is predominantly a butterfly of West Sussex and rather localised in its distribution. For a species that lays its eggs on Blackthorn, a very common plant throughout Sussex, only occasional sightings are reported from East Sussex.

(all photographs are of females)

White-letter Hairstreak (Satyrium w-album)

This species is very localised in its distribution in Sussex. It lays its eggs exclusively on species of elm and colonies have been greatly affected by Dutch Elm Disease. Certainly, in my part of East Sussex, many fine elm stands have disappeared and sucker regrowth never looks very healthy after a couple of years. Consequently, finding colonies can be difficult.

(female)

(males)

Black Hairstreak (Satyrium pruni)

Nationally, this species occurs in a band across the English midlands, roughly between Oxford and Cambridge. Historically, it is unlikely that the Black Hairstreak has ever been native to Sussex but it is a species that has been subject to un-authorised releases in south-east England over many decades.

In 2017, a colony was found to be quite well established at a site in mid-Sussex.

My only encounter with the Black Hairstreak was in 2014, at a site in Cambridgeshire.

(female)

Orange-tip Courtship and Mating

 Courtship in some butterfly species is impressive to watch such as the amazing courtship flights of the Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia). However, in most species, courtship is a brief affair and consists mainly of mesmerising wing flapping and wafting of pheromones by the male towards the female.

Earlier this week, I was walking beside a roadside verge lush with prolific garlic mustard growth and there were several Orange-tip males on patrol. When I happened upon a very fresh female nectaring on the flower heads, she was very quickly found by one of the males.

Courtship to mating took no longer than 30 seconds and the following sequence of images illustrate the event.

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)

Courtship and mating.

Green-veined White (Pieris napi) (female)

A few days earlier in the same location, this female napi was resting between bouts of egg laying.

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)

Whilst photographing the mating Orange-tips, this rubi settled nearby and provided an irresistible diversion.

Bluebells in a Wealden wood.

Spring Butterflies Emerge

 Lepidopterists are always eager to see their first butterflies of the year and the very early species to appear are those that have hibernated as adults. However, by late March the true harbingers of Spring start to emerge from their chrysalises.

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines) (male)

Small White (Pieris rapae) (female)

Large White (Pieris brassicae) (male)

Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi)

Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) (female)

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) (male)

Phasia hemiptera (mating)

This is a parasitic tachinid fly and as its specific name suggests, it preys on bugs, mainly Green and Red-legged Shieldbugs. This species is sexually dimorphic and the male has rather attractive wings with metallic blue flashes.