Lycaenidae : Theclinae
Green Hairstreak
CALLOPHRYS rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)
Green Hairstreak
CALLOPHRYS rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 25-30mm
Worldwide Distribution: N.Africa : Europe : Turkey : Russia : Siberia : Amurland : Not in Crete
UK Distribution: Wales and Scotland : Including Inner Hebrides and Arran-Widespread but local species : Ireland-Widespread and local especially in the South and West : England-Strongest and widespread on calcareous grassland in the south and moorlands in the north.
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: March-June : Univoltine (one brood per year)
Habitat: Calcareous grassland : Woodland Rides : Heathland : Moorland : Old quarries : Scrubby grassland : Marshes. My encounters with the Green Hairstreak in Hampshire are usually found in close proximity to Hawthorn Crataegus monogyny
Ovum: With so many larval food plants available to the female it is surprising how meticulous she is when laying as I encountered when watching the ovum below being deposited deep into the crevice of the LFP. The green shiny egg has a thin shell which makes it flexible and assists the female deposit it into the plant.
Larva: Mid May-Early August. The larva is hard to find in the wild as it is so well camouflaged as it lies motionless over the growing tip of the LFP.
Pupa: The fully grown caterpillar leaves the LFP to pupate on the ground where they possibly hibernate in ants nests until the following spring.
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: Being polyphagous, having the widest number of larval food plants of any British butterfly, is possibly why this butterfly is so sucessful and widely distributed in the British Isles.
It is our only "Green" butterfly,the colour being caused by light diffraction on the underside wing scales. The upperside is brown, but can only be seen in flight as the butterfly always rests with its wings closed. The faint white streak on the underside is variable and as in the photos below is sometimes reduced to a couple of white dots.
As can be seen in photo one below the butterfly can adjust its temperature by tilting its body towards the sun.
It is difficult to tell males from females in the field as their markings look similar although males are usually encountered on Hawthorn or other plants "sunning" themselves waiting for passing females whereas encounters with females usually take place during egg laying.
Worldwide Distribution: N.Africa : Europe : Turkey : Russia : Siberia : Amurland : Not in Crete
UK Distribution: Wales and Scotland : Including Inner Hebrides and Arran-Widespread but local species : Ireland-Widespread and local especially in the South and West : England-Strongest and widespread on calcareous grassland in the south and moorlands in the north.
UK Conservation Status -
- Least Concern - Red List
- Least Concern
- Papilio rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sweden : Selected by Verity,1943
Flight Period: March-June : Univoltine (one brood per year)
Habitat: Calcareous grassland : Woodland Rides : Heathland : Moorland : Old quarries : Scrubby grassland : Marshes. My encounters with the Green Hairstreak in Hampshire are usually found in close proximity to Hawthorn Crataegus monogyny
Ovum: With so many larval food plants available to the female it is surprising how meticulous she is when laying as I encountered when watching the ovum below being deposited deep into the crevice of the LFP. The green shiny egg has a thin shell which makes it flexible and assists the female deposit it into the plant.
Larva: Mid May-Early August. The larva is hard to find in the wild as it is so well camouflaged as it lies motionless over the growing tip of the LFP.
Pupa: The fully grown caterpillar leaves the LFP to pupate on the ground where they possibly hibernate in ants nests until the following spring.
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: Being polyphagous, having the widest number of larval food plants of any British butterfly, is possibly why this butterfly is so sucessful and widely distributed in the British Isles.
It is our only "Green" butterfly,the colour being caused by light diffraction on the underside wing scales. The upperside is brown, but can only be seen in flight as the butterfly always rests with its wings closed. The faint white streak on the underside is variable and as in the photos below is sometimes reduced to a couple of white dots.
As can be seen in photo one below the butterfly can adjust its temperature by tilting its body towards the sun.
It is difficult to tell males from females in the field as their markings look similar although males are usually encountered on Hawthorn or other plants "sunning" themselves waiting for passing females whereas encounters with females usually take place during egg laying.
Forms : Aberrations : Subspecies
C. r. rubi Linnaeus, 1758-Europe-not SE Europe
C & S Iberian penisula : Balearic I : Corsica : Sardinia : Asia Minor : Near East
C. r. rubi Linnaeus, 1758-Europe-not SE Europe
C & S Iberian penisula : Balearic I : Corsica : Sardinia : Asia Minor : Near East
Ova
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Cistaceae - Rock-rose Family
- Helianthemum nummularium - Common Rockrose
- Cornaceae - Dogwood Family
- Cornus sanguinea - Dogwood
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Calluna vulgaris - Common Heather
- Erica tetralix - Bog Heather
- Vaccinium myrtilus - Bilberry - Blue Whortleberry
- Vaccinium uliginosum - Bog Bilberry - Northern Bilberry
- Fabaceae - Leguminosea - The Pulse - Bean - Pea - Legume Family
- Anthyllis vulneraria - Kidney Vetch - Woundwort
- Chamaecytisus hirsutus - Clustered Broom - Hairy Broom
- Cytisus nigricans - Black Broom
- Cytisus scoparius - Broom - Scotch Broom
- Dorycnium hirsutum - Hairy Canary Clover
- Dorycnium pentaphyllum - Postrate Canary Clover
- Genista germanica - No Common Name
- Genista corsica - Corsican Broom
- Genista tinctoria - Dyer's Greenweed
- Lotus corniculatus - Bird's-foot Trefoil - Common Bird's-foot Trefoil
- Onobrychis vicifolia - Sainfoin - Esparcet - Pipirigallo
- Trifolium medium - Zigzag Clover
- Ulex europaeus - Gorse - Furze - Whin
- Ulex minor - Dwarf Gorse - Dwark Furze
- Vicia cracca - Tufted Vetch - Bird Vetch - Cow Vetch
- Rosaceae - Rose Family
- Rubus fruticosus - Bramble - Blackberry
- Rubus idaeus - Raspberry - Framboise
- Rubus fruticosus - Bramble - Blackberry
- Rhamnaceae - Buckthorn Family
- Rhamnus cathartica - Common Buckthorn - Purging Buckthorn
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Betulaceae - Betula - Birch
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Rhamnus cathartica - Common Buckthorn - Purging Buckthorn
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species CALLOPHRYS: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Lycaenidae Theclinae Eumaeini CALLOPHRYS Billberg, 1820 Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) - PAPILIO rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) = Papilio caecus Fourcroy, 1785 = Callophrys borelis Krulikovski, 1890 = Thecla sibirica Rühl - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.483 n.154 - Sweden - C.r. bipunctata Tutt, 1907 C.r. brunnea Tutt, 1896 C.r. caecus Geoffroy, 1785 C.r. cinerascens Rebel, 1910 C.r. incompleta Tutt, 1907 C.r. inferopunctata Tutt, 1907 C.r. punctata Tutt, 1907 - C.r.rubi Linnaeus, 1758-Europe : Caucasus : Kopet Dag C.r.fervida Staudinger, 1901-Iberian Peninsula : Morocco : Asia Minor C.r.borealis Krulikovsky, 1890-Urals C.r.sibirica Heyne, 1895-Tien-Shan : Altai : Siberia : Transbaikalia : Far East : Amur : Ussuri : Sakhalin. |