Holly Blue laying on Pyracantha

[chrisox]

At midday today I noticed a female Holly Blue flying around the Pyracantha bush. Closer examination revealed she was laying eggs on the flower buds. I know Holly Blues have a wide variety of larvae food plants but I can't find any reference to Pyracantha in my books. Anyone else seen this?

It was interesting to see that although she was bending her abdomen below a flower bud she didn't always lay an egg. You could tell when she was laying though as her abdomen was still and it took longer time. I guess probing with her abdomen was a way of telling if it was a suitable place or not. The eggs are beautiful. Unfortunately I don't have the sort of camera to take close up pictures of them.

Pyracantha bushes seem to be quite good for wildlife. We get Blackbird and Fieldfare and Redwings feeding off the berries in Autumn, and birds nest in the bush. Now Holly Blues too!

Cheers

Chris

[kevling]

Hi Chris,

Glad to hear you have Holly Blues ovipositing on your Pyracantha. The same happened in our garden last weekend (see my personal diary for photos). This is not the first year that I have observed this and the behaviour you observed is exactly the way I witnessed it. My female rested on at least a half dozen flower heads and ovisposited on two of them. It will be interesting to see how the larva do. The last time I found an egg, I saw no sign of the resulting caterpillar.

Stay safe and kind regards

Kev

[bugboy]

I too have observed HB compositing on Pyrocantha. I don't think they are particularly fussy about LHP, having I believe one of the largest ranges of plants the larvae will accept, rivalled only by the Green Hairstreak. The only thing it must be is developing flower buds.

[Pete Eeles]

I don't think they are particularly fussy about LHP, having I believe one of the largest ranges of plants the larvae will accept, rivalled only by the Green Hairstreak. The only thing it must be is developing flower buds.

I completely agree - and this has also been proven in captivity. They'll even take Laurel flower buds, which I always assumed would be as toxic as the leaves.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Vince Massimo]

There was a topic on this in 2017 where lots of observations were collated and made for an interesting and informative read.
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=9308

Vince

[Pete Eeles]

There was a topic on this in 2017 where lots of observations were collated and made for an interesting and informative read.
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=9308

Vince

Thanks Vince - I'd forgotten all about that!

Cheers,

- Pete

[JohnR]

Thanks for this; it may explain as to why I always see my first Holly Blues close to my Pyracantha hedge rather than near the ivy-covered trees.

[chrisox]

Thanks for all the replies, and the article. Seems Holly Blues really aren't fussy. I was all set to plant some dogwood in the garden to attract HBs but with the Pyracantha I think I will use the garden space for something else now. I have taken two eggs in to breed through, will see how they get on.

Cheers

Chris

[bugboy]

Thanks for all the replies, and the article. Seems Holly Blues really aren't fussy. I was all set to plant some dogwood in the garden to attract HBs but with the Pyracantha I think I will use the garden space for something else now.

Cheers

Chris

Try some Buckthorn if you don't have any already for the local Brimstones, Holly Blues will lay on it as well! Nice small tree that you can prune back and keep it in check if space is an issue

[chrisox]

Hi Bugboy,

In fact we planted an Alder Buckthorn tree a couple of years ago. It's about 1½ mtrs tall now and this year sprouting a good number of leaves. No eggs on it which isn't surprising. I'm hoping in a year or two when it's bigger we might get some.

Cheers

Chris

[Vince Massimo]

Hi Chris,

You don't need a large Alder Buckthorn in order to get Brimstone eggs. Mine is presently 1.4m high and in a pot.

Alder Buckthorn 3-June-2018

In April 2015 (when it was a much smaller plant) I had 9 eggs on it.
2016 no eggs
22 May 2017 21 eggs laid
20 May 2018 21 eggs laid
16 May 2019 20+ eggs laid
2020 no eggs yet.

As most of my eggs appeared in May, there is still time for you to get some on your plant, as long as it's in a sunny spot in the garden. I usually keep my plant in the flower border, so the attached photo is not it's typical location.

Vince

[chrisox]

Hi Vince,

Wow that is a lot of eggs. My estimation was a bit out, I've just measured it at 1.1 mtrs. We tried to plant it in a sunny sheltered spot. I'll keep checking for eggs.

Cheers

Chris

[bugboy]

A load of Buckthorn whips were planted at my work during the 2018/2019 winter, just single stems between half and 1 metre long, they had eggs on them as soon as the females found them last spring!

[aeshna5]

I've also seen Holly Blues use Pyracantha in my garden.

As an aside I used to lead natural history trips in Kazakhstan where Holly Blue was common in spring but there was no Holly nor Ivy (though that wouldn't be used in the spring brood) around, so clearly using different food plants there.

[Rosalyn]

I had a Holly Blue flying around our garden just now and I noticed the same. After inspecting the many bonsai trees in our back yard it chose the Pyracantha to lay on.

[Allan.W.]

Sitting in the garden after the weekly shopping expedition ,sitting in the garden with a cup of tea ,I noticed a Holly Blue on the neighbours Californian lilac (Ceonothus Concha ) which hangs over our fish pond ,it was a female and I witnessed her lay several eggs .
Regards Allan.W.

[chrisox]

Hi Vince,

Since you mentioned you'd had Brimstone eggs on your 1.4 mtr Alder Buckthorn I have been checking my 1.1 mtr one regularly and today have found one:

I checked the rest of the bush and found a total of 13! I just hope there are enough leaves on my small plant to feed them all (if they all survive to grow up which I suspect is unlikely).

Cheers

Chris

[Vince Massimo]

Excellent news, Chris.

I had approximately 10 eggs laid on my plant on 6th May and they started hatching on the 18th.

Brimstone 1st instar larva 21-May-2020

Vince