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The Brown Hairsreak, Thecla betulae (Linné, 1758), Family lycaenidae : Theclinae, In the South of France
The Brown Hairstreak is the largest of the Hairstreaks and flies in one long generation from early-July to mid-October.
In Provence, this discrete butterfly is very local and fairly rare, certainly due to the fact that it spends most of its time in the tree canopies. Until 1999, this butterfly has scarcely been observed in the Var.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WaVzHLn_QA

Thank you Brigitte, that was fantastic .
Another great life cycle video from VarWild.

Vince

Yet another superb video - thanks for allowing us to share them on UKB, Brigitte - especially as I see this as a growing dimension to this enthralling hobby moving forward.

Cheers,

- Pete

Well, that is simply stunning. A remarkable insight into the life cycle of one of the UK's most precious butterfly species.

I particularly enjoyed the puddling sequence - I never knew Brown Hairstreaks indulged in that (although in Britain I suppose they scarcely need to!)

Although the film states that the orange patches on the females' wings are not known to serve a purpose, I think camouflage enters the equation here. I personally got distracted several times whilst looking for egg-laying females in Pembrokeshire last year only to find that my attention had been drawn to early autumn blackthorn leaves 'on the turn' which appeared, at first glance, to mimic the pattern of this butterfly's wings: