page_title: Green hairstreak
section_title: Life cycle and behavior
hierarchical_section_title: Green hairstreak / Life cycle and behavior
caption_attribution_description: The egg of the butterfly Callophrys rubi (Green Hairstreak) on an inflorescence of Genista anglica Scale&#160;: egg width ~0.5 mm Technical settings&#160;: - focus stack of 71 images - microscope objective (Nikon achromatic 10x 160/0.25) on bellow
context_page_description: The green hairstreak is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
context_section_description: These butterflies can be found at the end of March, with flight time usually lasting until the end of June, but they are sometimes seen in July and early August. They never rest with their wings open, to maintain their green camouflage. The males exhibit territorial behavior.
  The eggs are laid singly. The caterpillars are not known to be tended by ants, unlike some lycid larvae, but the pupae, which are formed at ground level, emit squeaks that attract ants and it is thought that ants will always bury any that are found. Green hairstreaks overwinter as pupae and are univoltine, having one generation of adult butterflies per year.
  The larva is recorded as feeding on Vaccinium myrtillus, Vaccinum uliginosum, Betula, Rubus idaeus, Vicia cracca, Trifolium medium, Calluna vulgaris, Frangula, Rhamnus, Ribes, Spiraea, Caragana, Chamaecytisus, Hedysarum, Genista, Trifolium  and Hippophae rhamnoides in different parts of its range.
  This polyphagous species probably has one of the largest range of food plants of any British butterfly. Early butterfly collectors thought that the only food plant was bramble (blackberry) Rubus fruticosus but as its habits became better understood the list grew and will probably continue to do so. Depending on the habitat it will use common rock rose Helianthemum nummularium, bird's-foot trefoil Lotus corniculatus, gorse Ulex europaeus, broom Cytisus scoparius, Dyer's greenweed Genista tinctoria, bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus, dogwood Cornus sanguinea, buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica, cross-leaved heath Erica tetralix and bramble.
caption: Egg
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