Brown hairstreaks

[Denise]

Is Denise flying yet Susie?
Hang on to her until I get up there for the meeting.
(I will be in touch soon about that)

Denise

[Susie]

No, three boys so far, Denise.

The cage isn't netted anymore so they have flown off into the big wide world.

[Susie]

Here's one of them getting ready for his maiden flight. (four boys emerged in the end today that I saw - there were probably more elsewhere in the garden)

[Susie]

After leaving home one of my babies went and sat in the hedge. Bless, all grown up and ready to woo the ladies when they turn up. He's a handsome fella if I do say so myself.

[Padfield]

They're wonderful, Susie!

How long will it be before wild ladies come to seduce them? Here in CH brown hairstreaks fly from mid-August to October... Are your hand-reared ones especially early or do you normally see them at this time?

Guy

[Susie]

I think the ladies will be around in about a week, from what I have been told about the difference between the males emerging and then the females.

It does seem especially early for Brown Hairstreaks to be out, going on all the data I have read, BUT my reared ones don't seem to be earlier than their wild counterparts because the eggs hatched at the same time (obviously the eggs were laid at similar times as both came from the same place), the wild ones in the garden grew at a similar rate and both lots went down to pupate on almost exactly the same days.

Now when I am out and about I don't know if I am seeing a wild one or one of my reared ones which were released after emergence but I would imagine, going on everything else, that the wild ones will be emerging now and over the next week or so.

I think that Brown Hairstreak, like Purple Emperor, is just another under recorded species because it can be so illusive if you don't know what to look for and is in fact around much more than people appreciate (around here anyway - most people have never heard of a Brown Hairstreak).

[Pete Eeles]

Hi Susie,

Did you rear your "captive-bred" stock indoors, or outside (on growing foodplant)?

I guess I'm asking a similar question to Guy - trying to determine if there's some factor at play that has caused them to emerge earlier than usual

Cheers,

- Pete

[Susie]

The only difference between my reared chaps and the wild ones in the garden is that the reared chaps had a net over the top. The reared ones were eating living blackthorn bushes, just these were grown in big pots rather than in the ground. I am sure I posted a photo somewhere.

Both wild and netted eggs hatched at the same time. All the caterpillars grew at approximately the same rate and both went down to pupate at approximately the same time or, to be completely accurate, the wild brown hairstreak caterpillars disappeared at the same time as my netted ones went down to pupate - I couldn't find any wild ones on the ground but I do know that they weren't on the area of bush that they were previously so, bar predation, the logical explanation is that they were pupating.

Having been warned that having a net over the top created a warmer micro climate I put them somewhere cool and shady (only getting a couple of hours direct sunlight a day) to hopefully slow down their development compared to their cousins on the sunny blackthorn hedge. I am sure I posted a photo of the nets somewhere?

The brown hairstreaks so far have done everything a week earlier than the accepted dates for BHs but I think that both the wild and netted BHs are in sync.

[Pete Eeles]

Thanks Susie - sounds like you've done a great job in ensuring that your captive-bred chappies and chappeses are in sync. with their cousins. And the first emergence I've heard of this year!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Susie]

Cheers Pete.

Here's the pots from back when they were first planted up. Both pots and contents are about four feet high in total and contain three blackthorn whips which, over the course of the past six months, have completed filled the net out.

The whole point of this exercise was to save the eggs on the bushes which the council was going to cut and same some in the garden from predation (as natural losses seemed to be so high) so there would be plenty of healthy adults to repopulate the area given the number of eggs that were lost when an area of hedge was massacred by the council (thanks to Kipper that shouldn't happen to the same degree again) . I think I have achieved that goal. Job done.

[Pete Eeles]

Yep - well done all round!

Cheers,

- Pete

[Padfield]

Yes, a fantastic job well done. If I were advising the government for New Year honours I would put you up for an OBE. But I think they'd probably reply, 'What's a brown hairstreak?'

Guy

[Susie]

Ok, stop taking the mick.

[eccles]

A great story, and such beautiful results. As for the government asking what a brown hairstreak was, I imagine they might ask the Health Department in the first instance, believing it to be something to do with personal hygiene.

[Susie]

Ewwww. Thanks, eccles.

Had another hairstreak emerge this morning but I think its wings are crippled and it didn't appear to be able to fly at all. Can't wait to get home from work and have a look to see how it is now if it is still there.

Edit: Yeah, he was still there, his wings are completely knackered and had bits of chrysalis case stuck to them so he obviously wasn't able to pump them up properly for some reason. I've put him into one of the netted blackthorn pots and he is supping on a dilute honey solution so that is something. I might keep this one, otherwise he'll just end up as bird food and that seems a shame; he has such pretty eyes.

[Susie]

Here come the girls!

Say hello to Denise, Denise.

[Denise]

Wow!
Fantastic Susie.

[Susie]

They're wonderful, Susie!

How long will it be before wild ladies come to seduce them? Here in CH brown hairstreaks fly from mid-August to October... Are your hand-reared ones especially early or do you normally see them at this time?

Guy

Just to prove that my hairstreaks aren't out of sink with the wild local population there is a sighting on the Sussex Butterfly Conservation sightings page from Sam Bayley at Southwater Country Park of a female brown hairstreak on the same day as my female brown hairstreaks have hatched. There is no way the one that Sam saw was one of mine.

[Susie]

Is Denise flying yet Susie?
Hang on to her until I get up there for the meeting.
(I will be in touch soon about that)

Denise

Hi Denise, I assume that you do know that I let all the brown hairstreaks go? I had to because that was the whole point of breeding them.

[Denise]

Hi Susie,

Of course you had to let them go, although you could have hung onto one male and one female to breed for next year, and after she had laid a few eggs, let them go. But yes, I do understand. I just hope that the weather holds out for our meeting, and I get to see at least one, up close and personal. I so want to get a photo.

Denise