Purple Hairstreak (Favonius quercus)

Family: Lycaenidae Checklist: 61.004

 
Description
Wing span: 32-39 mm. The Purple Hairstreak is common, but is not often seen as it spends much of its life flying around the tops of oak trees or hidden in the foliage. The upper surfaces of the male have a purple sheen. The purple area is reduced on the female. The undersides of both sexes are similar. It is commonest in the southern half of England and Wales. Its preferred habitat is woodland where there are large numbers of oaks.
 
Images (click to enlarge)
Purple Hairstreak ♂ © Saxifraga (Henk Bosma)
Purple Hairstreak ♂ underside © David Hastings
Purple Hairstreak ♀ © Simon Fenner
Purple Hairstreak ♀ underside © David Hastings
Male Male underside Female Female underside
 
Life Cycle
Adults emerge in July and may be seen into September, with a peak at the end of July and early August. There is one brood each year. The ovum is the overwintering stage.
 
Larval Foodplants
Larval food plants are Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea), English Oak (Quercus robur), Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris) and Holm Oak (Quercus ilex).
 
Nectar Sources
Adults feed primarily on aphid honeydew. They don't generally visit flowers.
 
UK Conservation Status
Least Concern
 
Earliest UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 31st May
Mean UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 20th June
 
 
Distribution and Sites
 

Key
1 sighting 2-9 max seen 10+ max seen
This species is a habitat specialist. It can be found at these sites:
Berkshire
Bowdown Wood
Maidenhead Thicket
Buckinghamshire
Bernwood Forest
Black Park
Calvert Jubilee
Chinkwell Wood
College Wood
Finemere Wood
Holtspur Valley
Howe Park Wood
Little Linford Wood
Rushbeds Wood/Lapland Farm Meadows
Oxfordshire
Asham Meads
Otmoor
Piddington Wood
Shotover Country Park
Sydlings Copse
Warburg Reserve
Waterperry Wood
Whitecross Green Wood

 
Related Species
All Species