|
|
What? No pictures? Sorry - no. The thumbnail on the previous page was taken from the internet because the meadow's encounter with the Purple Hairstreak was so brief that even if a camera had been available at the time it is unlikely whether a shot could have been fired off in time.
On 22nd June 2020 the Hairstreak was seen, completely unexpectedly, sitting on a hazel leaf with its wings closed, showing its characteristic white underwing colouring which makes it easy to confuse with a Holly Blue at first glance. While thoughts of identification were being processed it suddenly flew off, briefly displaying the vivid purple of its upper wing surfaces which indicated that it was in fact a male. The entire encounter took no more than 20 seconds - enough time to positively identify it, given the unmistakeable colouring, but not long enough to really appreciate it. Next time, maybe!
 | Return to index |
