Brown hairstreak larvae

[Susie]

I think you were right and that is one.

You can't see much through a cow so I think you'd be wise to leave the hairstreaks alone in that case.

[Padfield]

Yippee!

Guy

[Padfield]

The weather is still preventing decent pictures - really gloomy - but the caterpillars are slowly growing. Everything in Switzerland at the moment is drenched, dark and cold so I would expect larval development is getting a little behind schedule.





Guy

[Padfield]

Still extremely hard to find, and not growing very fast, doubtless because we haven't had any sun up here in the mountain the whole of May. These were taken at 8.00pm - I must get some pictures in the daytime, as I find it impossible to focus in the evening light.







Guy

[Padfield]

12 days later - and once again in miserable rain...







Guy

[Padfield]

I'll probably leave my brown hairstreaks to survive as best they can now, in their field of cows (which have already trampled and damaged some of the small bushes), without putting them and their bushes to the added stress of me searching all over. When they start pupating my searches would be potentially more damaging.

Yesterday I showed them to a friend visiting from France, who had come, amongst other things, to photograph them. I failed to find one for about half an hour, then, just when I was about to give up, I spotted this:



What remarkable camouflage! A good picture to sign off on, at least for the time being!