page_title: Brown hairstreak
section_title: Life cycle and food plants
hierarchical_section_title: Brown hairstreak / Life cycle and food plants
caption_attribution_description: Egg of the butterfly Thecla betulae on a Prunus spinosa twig scale&#160;: egg width = 0.9 mm Technical settings&#160;: - focus stack of 56 images - microscope objective (Nikon achromatic 10x 160/0.25) on on 68mm extention tubes + 30 mm adapter
context_page_description: The brown hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The range includes most of the Palaearctic.
context_section_description: In Europe the female lays her eggs on blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) in late August which overwinter, hatching the following spring when the buds are breaking. It has been found that the best way to find breeding sites for this species is to look for the conspicuous white eggs in the winter. The larvae are extremely well camouflaged and feed only at night, remaining motionless during the day. Pupation takes place in leaf litter on the ground in late June or early July and are attractive to ants who will bury them in shallow cells.
caption: Egg
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