Purple
Hairstreak Favonius quercus (Linnaeus, 1758) .... Formerly known as Neozephyrus
quercus |
Status
.....Generally
widespread, though not across all parts of
Nottinghamshire, the Purple Hairstreak's arboreal
habits make it very much an under-recorded
butterfly. It probably
occurs in all decent sized woods, where it goes
unnoticed. The adults rarely descend from the upper
reaches of Oak, but males will often occur around Ash (Fraxinus)
or other adjacent trees, utilising them as perches from
which to wait for females or chase away rival males. On
very hot afternoons, adults will sometimes descend to
lower levels for a period of time. There is an indication
that the butterfly's numbers reached a low point during
2007 and 2008, but there have been signs of a slight
recovery since. |
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Adult female, reared
ex-Sherwood Forest larva, photographed
June 2020 |
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Early stages |
Ova/egg on Oak Quercus robur.
Photographed at Lound Wood December 2021. |
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Newly hatched larva (1.3mm) on Oak Quercus robur.
Photographed at Lound Wood near Eakring, March 12th 2022 |
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Part-grown larva on Oak Quercus robur.
Photographed in captivity March 2022 |
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Full-grown larva on Oak Quercus robur.
Photographed at Sherwood
Forest CP May 2020 |
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Pupa. Photographed at Sherwood
Forest CP May 2020 |
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