Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus)
2024 photographs highlighted in yellow. Click on any photograph to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 46562_female_Var_14Jul19 | 04_44-04_female_Var_20Jul04 | 49879_female_Isère_14Jul22 | 49876_female_Isère_14Jul22 |
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| 25946_female?_Var_25Jun11 | 17082_female_Alpes-Maritimes_03Jul09 |
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This butterfly is increasingly believed to be more common than previously thought, and probably quite common. In fact, I have even heard it suggested that it is one of the commonest butterflies in England. It is often missed as it spends much of its time high in the treetops and is most active in late afternoon and early evening when it can be seen (best with binoculars) engaging in aerial skirmishes high in the canopy.
In one locality I happened to chance on an area of low shaded shrubbery alongside a dried up river bed in the heat of the afternoon and found I had disturbed a number of quercus that were presumably escaping the heat. In 2009 I chanced upon a low tree in which ten or more were resting in the shade in mid-morning, difficult to spot as they were so inactive. In September 2012, after a very dry summer, a number of quercus came down in the morning take moisture (and salts?) from the damp earth of a dried up river bed. |
However, as they spend most of their time in the canopy of Oak trees (Quercus pubescens, Q. petraea, Q. ilex) (the larval hostplant), any opportunity for photography is welcome. They feed on aphid secretions ("honeydew") and rarely take nectar from flowers or salts/moisture from the ground. In 2015 I tried the bait of diluted honey on low bushes to see if I could tempt them down, but no joy. Despite it being ubiquitous, an opportunity for a passable photograph of a male still eludes me.
The male has extensive purple on both upperside wings and the female has reduced purple patches, mainly in the basal area of the upf. The undersides of both sexes are very similar although H&R says that the unh marginal markings are more distinct in the female. It infrequently settles with wings open, which is a shame. Quercus is not dissimilar to the Spanish Purple Hairstreak (Laeosopis roboris) in this respect.
This species was previously known as Neozephyrus quercus. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 46562 | F | a female I had rescued that had got into difficulties at the edge of the stream and clearly was unable to extricate itself. It was placed on a nearby twig in order to dry out. It did not appear to be affected by its experience as it flew away normally after a few moments. A male had the same problem at the same time but, once removed from the water, it was able to fly away normally without the courtesy of waiting for a photo. | 450 |
| 04_44-04 | F |
a female with limited blue/purple in the basal area of the upf, the male having a more extensive blue/purple patch extending to the margins. |
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| 49879 | F | a female, having come down to ground to take moisture from damp ground adjacent to a rivulet. 49876 is the underside. It is clearly a female from the limited extent of upf purple and the clearly-visible body shape, even though being on the ground would normally be associated with male behaviour. Given that it is a relatively common species, I have yet to get an image of a male, upperside or underside. | 1120 |
| 49876 | F | a female underside, quite lightly marked in the submarginal regions based on the limited number of images I have of quercus. | 1120 |
| 25946 | F? | possibly a female based on the distinctive marginal marks, but I am not sure how reliable this is as an indicator of the sexes. | 450 |
| 17082 | F |
maybe the slightly more distinct marginal marks suggest female. On studying the magnified image, the end of the foreleg appears to be articulated and identical to the mid-leg and hind-leg and not hooked, which confirms that this is a female. |
650 |
17082_female_Alpes-Maritimes_03Jul09
