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Green Hairstreak - Favourite Photo of 2018

Week 6

And so the Favourites thread continues on into the G's. Next week the Thread may start a little later depending on how the Winter Social goes

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

My favourite this year was this little chap at Denbies. He was perched with a small shrub inbetween us and I could only get a clear shot by focusing through a gap in said shrub. I like the effect of the I got with the leaves close to me causing a soft focus framing to the butterfly, making him stand out from the green surroundings.

On 4th May I came upon this plucky little chap flitting around avalanche snow and debris at 1800m. He was very active and had the option of settling on earth or bushes like his more conventional pals but evidently preferred the snow:



For context, rather than choosing a second photo, here is a wider field showing where he was:



Guy

The white hairstreak on that Green Hairstreak is quite remarkable, Guy.
I havn't seen one that well marked at my lattitude.

My photo is from the south of France at the beginning of April, at 650 m altitude.
The nectar must have been good from this tree because the GH kept coming back persistently, despite my presence. FZ150.
Any idea which tree it is ? Almond ?
Chris

Chris Jackson wrote:The white hairstreak on that Green Hairstreak is quite remarkable, Guy.
I havn't seen one that well marked at my lattitude.

I agree - a fabulously marked individual Guy! This one from the Lincolnshire coast, photographed on the 8th May 2018, is close to the opposite end of the variability spectrum. This species is so variable that it is hard to know when an individual qualifies as aberrant. Guy - yours looks like it could qualify as ab.punctata, whereas mine could be one small white mark short of ab.immaculata, or they could both just be part of a continuum of normal variation...

Chris Jackson wrote:The white hairstreak on that Green Hairstreak is quite remarkable, Guy.
I havn't seen one that well marked at my lattitude.

Yes, I recall you posting that specimen, Guy and it is indeed extraordinarily well 'streaked'. Even by your standards, that was a quite notable observation with the butterfly happily basking on frozen terrain.

Fell in love with this little butterfly when I saw my first at Hartland point, Devon, several years passed before I finally saw another, flying Emeralds.
Two if its allowed to show marking variations, Loire -Atlantique, France.
1st picture 26-04-2018
2nd picture 24-04-2018

My favourite shots were taken at Foulshaw Moss in the Lake District on the 7th May, It's a great place for Butterflies, ( not too far to walk ) Goldie

Last year, I found a Green Hairstreak on wasteground at Beckton, East London. This year proved it was no fluke as I found another four at the same site. In recent years, they have colonised Wanstead Flats and sites in Rainham (Essex) and Dagenham, so it's great to see them in the London Borough of Newham

Thanks for the comments on my snow hairstreak. In my experience, green hairstreak markings show a smooth continuum from unmarked to bold on both wings and while the extremes are striking I hesitate to call them aberrations. I expect this thread will show the full spectrum!

Guy

May 15th 2018
"I can remember listening to Jeremy Vine on radio 2 in the Anderby Creek Cafe. He might remember it also for "God knows reasons".

Somehow I only managed to find Green Hairstreak on one occasion this year - at Hawnby Hill on the edge of the North York Moors, on 19th May.

Saturday 5th May was a beautiful day and it was also the date when I saw my first Green Hairstreaks, at Welshmoor on the Gower, which is probably the most reliable spot for them round these parts.

However, of greater satisfaction was seeing a couple on Kilvey Hill in Swansea on 18th May. I've been up there at least 50 times since moving to Swansea in 2010 but this was the first time I'd ever seen them here:
It also helps that this habitat affords lovely views over the Swansea coastline:

All my photos of Green Hairstreaks this year were taken during one memorable day at Bradenham Woods. Most of my photos were conventional side-on photos, so I chose this one as being a little different and for showing the brilliance of the iridescent colour in sunlight.
Mike

Though I saw a selection at various sites around southern England, the one that stands out was a very amenable female egg-laying on dogwood at Bedfont Lakes CP (south side) on 3rd May. This butterfly was almost impossible to disturb, so intent was it on laying. Dave

My only time spent with this species in 2018 was at Ryton Wood Meadows where good numbers were flying around the usual reliable spots.
A couple of typical side on shots taken with arms extended up and using the vari-angle screen on my FZ200.
Cheers,

Neil.

millerd wrote:Though I saw a selection at various sites around southern England, the one that stands out was a very amenable female egg-laying on dogwood at Bedfont Lakes CP (south side) on 3rd May. This butterfly was almost impossible to disturb, so intent was it on laying.

I've still never seen a Green Hairstreak ovipositing, Dave. I must watch out for it next year.

She's quite a looker too with that pronounced set of white 'streaks'.

This is definitely one of my favourite spring species! I offer two views of the same individual: Kithurst Hill, May 19th 2018, 3.45pm

(much sharper if you click on them!)

Cheers
John W

Green Hairstreak

I am justifying my selection of two shots of this species on the grounds that a – they’re of the same individual and b – one is more for Ernie than me; the first shot shows a Greenstreak wing roll.

Back at the beginning of May my wife had an Aromatherapy Course and so I took the girls out for the afternoon. I visited Coombe Bisset with the hopes of picking up and early Dingy or Grizzlie but instead I found my first Greenstreak. My second shot was the best from the day but I chose my shots from this particular day as it reminds me of saving an errant lamb and returning it to its mum, something which pleased my girls no end and left me feeling slightly out of sorts – my ancestry lying in Blacksmithing and not Shepherdy!
Have a goodun

Wurzel