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Purple Hairstreak butterfly found at Killiecrankie

06/10/2009 22:45:53

A female Hairstreak Butterfly. Photo credit and copyright holder: Alan Barnes/Butterfly Conservation.

First record of rare butterfly at Killiecrankie
October 2009. A rare butterfly has been spotted outside the National Trust for Scotland's visitor centre at Killiecrankie near Pitlochry in Perthshire. The unusual specimen - a female Purple Hairstreak butterfly - was in September on the ground at the front of the centre by one of the Trust's property managers, Ben Notley.

"It is the first time a Purple Hairstreak has been recorded at Killiecrankie," said Ben, "and it was the first time personally that I've been lucky enough to see one."

Limit of northern range
"The butterfly, which has beautiful reflective purple markings on its wings, usually lives high up in the branches of oak trees in England and Wales, so Perthshire would very much be the limit of its northern range. It just goes to show how rich in wildlife Scottish woodlands like Killiecrankie are and how much we have yet to discover."

Flies from July to September
Purple Hairstreaks are found from July to September, so the butterfly at the centre would have been at the end of its two-month lifespan. Unlike most butterflies, the Purple Hairstreak does not feed on flowers but gets its nourishment from honeydew, the sticky substance left behind by aphids feeding on oak leaves.

More information on the species can be found at the Butterfly Conservation website: www.butterfly-conservation.org

You can join the National Trust for Scotland for as little as £5 per month for a family. To become a member, visit http://www.nts.org.uk/Join/Benefits/ .

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