| Green Hairstreak (Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Green Hairstreak French name: Thècle de la ronce, Argus vert, Thècle verte commune. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Lycaenidae Subfamily: Theclinae Wingspan: 27-34 mm. Biotope: Bushy areas, waste lands, heathlands, woodland edges, clearings. Geographic area: Europe, North Africa, temperate and northern Asia east to Siberia. Flight time: March to July. Number of generations : 1 (a partial second brood mentioned early summer). Caterpillar: Green with well-marked narrowings between segments. It shows a dark dorsal line and whitish or yellowish lateral lines. The space between the dorsal line and the lateral lines bears dark green and white oblique patterns. Host plant: Very numerous host plants including Myrtle Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), Brambles and other plants of the Rubus genus, Glossy Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula), etc. |
The Green Hairstreak has a greyish brown upper side of the wings but the most visible is the bright green underside that you can clearly see when the butterfly is landed. This underside of the wings is crossed by a row of small white dots which are not always very visible. The eyes are outlined with pure white, the front of the head is green and the legs are ringed. The Chapman's Green Hairstreak (Callophrys avis), which is found in North Africa and in Mediterranean Europe differs by the rusty orange colour around the eyes and on the front of the head. Green Hairstreaks overwinter as chrysalis on the soil. |
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I have seen several times Green Hairstreaks, whose green colour provides a very efficient camouflage among vegetation, but each time I had no camera to shoot pictures. Here is my first, and only picture at this date, shot during a very nice walk thru the Tihany Peninsula near the banks of the Lake Balaton. You can clearly see the row of white dots on the fore wing and hind wing of this specimen. |
André Bon February 2022