Male White-letter Hairstreak, Hollingbury Park, 9th July 2015 -
Female White-letter Hairstreak, Hollingbury Park, 9th July 2015 -
9th July 2015, Hollingbury Park - At the low down hotspot during the course of my visit I had a total of 5 different male White-letter Hairstreaks, confirmed by closely analysing photos. Additionally I saw a single female, this being the first individual I saw down low, on Creeping Thistle. She was in an area well away from the lads, so to be left in peace, I don't blame her! As for the males, it was remarkable for the small area they would all continuously come back to, nectaring on brambles.The Main event however was when two of the males (included in the total males seen) started to dog fight at head height, right it front of us - (Douglas Neve and John was with me at the time). Suddenly one of the males broke off and landed on a bramble, the other male was hovering in flight, facing directly towards it and away from me. This meant for around 5 long seconds I could get a good look at it's deep, rich coloured upperside, stunning! The other male then took place on the same flower, they then walked over the flower head together, always walking in parallel, with one just behind. The whole event was over in a minute, however looking at the photos I took, there was some pushing going on. The male being behind was also pushing and curving it's abdomen around and towards the back of the individual in front, to me it looked like courtship and aggression! Looking at that photo (below), no wonder the females are elusive, it's a harpoon!
Both male, White-letter Hairstreaks close up!
Wider view, two males showing what appeared to be aggression and courtship!
but it was an educated guess based on visual indicators seen on the adult butterfly, looking at the shape and form of the sexes thorax. That would be great to see, thanks for searching it out! 
