Lycaenidae : Theclinae
White-letter Hairstreak
SATYRIUM w-album (Knoch, 1782)
White-letter Hairstreak
SATYRIUM w-album (Knoch, 1782)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 25-36mm
Worlwide Distribution: Central Europe : Southern Europe : Asia Minor : Southern Urals : N.E.China : Korea : Japan
UK Distribution: Distributed widely across much of England where its larval food plant is available. Absent from western Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall.
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: June-Late July : August in Southern Scandanavia : Univoltine : one brood per year
Habitat: Edges of fields : Roadside Verges : Woodland : Parks : In sunny position
Ovum: The flying saucer shaped ovum is without doubt one of the most attract of all butterflies and is deposited at any level of the Elm canopy.
Ova that have been deposited at the lower levels of the tree are found,with difficulty, under the wrinkled swollen girdle scar at the junction of the previous years growth usually facing south in order to take full advantage of the suns heat.
The overwintering ovum stage usually lasts up to eight months.
Larva: The larva usually hatch in March/April when the Elm buds are starting to swell whereupon the tiny caterpillar enters the bud to feed on the soft tissues. The larva changes colour as it grows and is well camouflaged against the swelling buds that its feeds on in the earlier stages of its development, before eventually feeding on the growing leaves where it rest on a silken pad spun beneath the leaf.
Pupa: The larva pupates beneath the elm leaf or between the fork of a twig appearing like a dead elm leaf.The pupal stage last fro about three to four weeks.
Overwinters as: Ova
Observations: The White-letter Hairstreak gets its common name and latin name from the white "W" marked on its underside hindwing. The dark upper wing colour can only be seen in flight as the butterfly always settles with its wings closed.
With the accidental introduction of "Dutch Elm Disease" from North America in the 1970's, 99% of our native Elm were destroyed, which had a devastating affect on the White-letter Hairstreak population, especially in southern England.
Disease resistant elm cultivars like Sapporo Autumn Gold (Ulmus japonica),a hybrid cross between Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila) and the Japanese Elm (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica) and Nanguen' (LUTÈCE)(Hampshire & Isle of Wight butterfly conservation) have been produced to help support the White-letter Hairstreak.
Small numbers of the butterfly can usually be found around Elms, but the butterfly like most hairstreaks, usually remain in the tops of the tree canopy where they feed on honeydew,where they remain for most of the day frustrating the lepi-photographer.
I found the butterfly below at 5-30pm as it left the Elm to feed on thistle and bramble blossom.
On one site in hampshire where the elm grow for about 200 metres from south to north I have only ever located the butterfly at the southern end of the trees, even though the sunshine reaches the northern end of the trees.
Worlwide Distribution: Central Europe : Southern Europe : Asia Minor : Southern Urals : N.E.China : Korea : Japan
UK Distribution: Distributed widely across much of England where its larval food plant is available. Absent from western Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Cornwall.
UK Conservation Status -
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Notable ( Nb 1980/93 ) - 31-100 10Km squares
- Endangered - Butterfly Red List for Great Britain 2010
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Fully Protected in Great Britain
- Insufficient Data
- Least Concern
- Papilio w-album Knoch, 1782
- Lycaena fuliginosa Edwards, 1861
- Germany,Leipzig
Flight Period: June-Late July : August in Southern Scandanavia : Univoltine : one brood per year
Habitat: Edges of fields : Roadside Verges : Woodland : Parks : In sunny position
Ovum: The flying saucer shaped ovum is without doubt one of the most attract of all butterflies and is deposited at any level of the Elm canopy.
Ova that have been deposited at the lower levels of the tree are found,with difficulty, under the wrinkled swollen girdle scar at the junction of the previous years growth usually facing south in order to take full advantage of the suns heat.
The overwintering ovum stage usually lasts up to eight months.
Larva: The larva usually hatch in March/April when the Elm buds are starting to swell whereupon the tiny caterpillar enters the bud to feed on the soft tissues. The larva changes colour as it grows and is well camouflaged against the swelling buds that its feeds on in the earlier stages of its development, before eventually feeding on the growing leaves where it rest on a silken pad spun beneath the leaf.
Pupa: The larva pupates beneath the elm leaf or between the fork of a twig appearing like a dead elm leaf.The pupal stage last fro about three to four weeks.
Overwinters as: Ova
Observations: The White-letter Hairstreak gets its common name and latin name from the white "W" marked on its underside hindwing. The dark upper wing colour can only be seen in flight as the butterfly always settles with its wings closed.
With the accidental introduction of "Dutch Elm Disease" from North America in the 1970's, 99% of our native Elm were destroyed, which had a devastating affect on the White-letter Hairstreak population, especially in southern England.
Disease resistant elm cultivars like Sapporo Autumn Gold (Ulmus japonica),a hybrid cross between Siberian Elm (Ulmus pumila) and the Japanese Elm (Ulmus davidiana var. japonica) and Nanguen' (LUTÈCE)(Hampshire & Isle of Wight butterfly conservation) have been produced to help support the White-letter Hairstreak.
Small numbers of the butterfly can usually be found around Elms, but the butterfly like most hairstreaks, usually remain in the tops of the tree canopy where they feed on honeydew,where they remain for most of the day frustrating the lepi-photographer.
I found the butterfly below at 5-30pm as it left the Elm to feed on thistle and bramble blossom.
On one site in hampshire where the elm grow for about 200 metres from south to north I have only ever located the butterfly at the southern end of the trees, even though the sunshine reaches the northern end of the trees.
Forms : Aberrations : Subspecies
S.w.w-album Knoch, 1782 Central Europe : South East Europe : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : S.Siberia : Transbaikalia : Far East
S.w.w-album Knoch, 1782 Central Europe : South East Europe : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : S.Siberia : Transbaikalia : Far East
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.
- Ulmaceae - Elm Family
- Ulmus davidiana - Japanese Elm
- Ulmus glabra - Wych Elm - Scots Elm
- Ulmus japonica - Sapporo Autumn Gold
- Ulmus laevis - European White Elm
- Ulmus minor var. minor - Smooth-leaved Elm
- Ulmus procera - English Elm - Antinian Elm - Common Elm
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 - SATYRIUM: Original Species Name: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Lycaenidae Theclinae Eumaeini SATYRIUM Scudder, 1876 Satyrium w-album (Knock,1782) - Lycaena fuliginosa Edwards, 1861 - PAPILIO w-album (Knoch 1782) = Nordmannia w-album Knoch, 1782 = Papilio w-album Knoch, 1782 = majuscula Jachontov, 1911 = Fixenia w-album = Strymonidia w-album = Thecla w-album - Beyträge zur Insektengeschichte. I. Stück. - pp. 1-8, 1-104, Tab. I-VII [= 1-7]. Leipzig. (Schwickert) : Title Page : p.85 - Germany,Leipzig - S.w. albinotica Goodson, 1959 S.w. albovirgata Tutt, 1907 S.w. rufextensa Goodson, 1959 - S.w.w-album Knoch, 1782-Central Europe : South East Europe : Caucasus : Transcaucasia : S.Siberia : Transbaikalia : Far East S.w.sutchani Tutt, 1907-Amur : Ussuri S.w.fentoni Butler,1882-Sakhalin : Kunashir : Kuriles |