Local nature enthusiasts, Lisa and Andy and family, were out today doing their permitted exercise, and looking for the common heath moth on Adel Moor, but were excited to find instead a colony of Green Hairstreak butterflies (callophrys rubi).
This butterfly is found throughout the UK but in the Leeds area, it is notorious for being found only on the Otley Chevin. This is in fact the first report of this species outside the Chevin in the Leeds area – so this is a pretty special find which Lisa and Andy have reported to the local recorders of the Butterfly Conservation Trust. .
The caterpillars like to live on bilberry, gorse and heather, and so the habitat on Adel Moor ought to be just what they like: it is very similar to the habitat on the Chevin.
The Green Hairstreak has a very short fly period – from April to May. When not in flight, it holds its wings closed showing only the green underside with its faint white streak. The white streak is variable: sometimes it may be reduced to a few dots and may be almost absent.
The males and females are very similar and are most readily told apart by their behaviour: rival males may be seen in a spiral flight close to shrubs, while the females are more often encountered while laying eggs.
Oh, by the way, Lisa and Andy mentioned that they have seen the tail end of a couple of very fast moving lizards in the same spot over the last few weeks!
This is a photo of a Green Hairstreak taken by Steve Joul on Otley Chevin.
Friends of Adel Woods 