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Thecla betulae / Brown Hairstreak
Bishtakja e mështeknës
Lycaenidae - Theclinae
Thecla betulae (Linnaeus, 1758) TL: Sweden.
 
 
1a. Thecla betulae, distribution map.  Historical data ;  Additional data from the 2018 update ;  New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Thecla betulae eggs on Prunus spinosa. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Thecla betulae ♀ underside. Belgium (© Stef Spruytte)
1d. Thecla betulae eggs on Prunus spinosa. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 17-18 mm.
Hw: short tail on v2.
Ups: brown gc.
Upf: vertical mark at cell-end.
Uph: small orange marginal markings at v1 and v2.
Uns: orange-yellow gc.
Unf: narrow mark at cell-end, white postdiscal line.
Unh: darker orange aree between a short discal and a posdiscal white line.
♀♀
Larger.
Hw: short tail on v2.
Upf: wide orange-red postdiscal band.
Uns: more brilliant.
Similar species
None.
Life cycle
Adults: single generation from July to late September.
Egg: overwintering on a twig of the foodplant, 36-39 weeks.
Caterpillar: 31-41 days.
Pupa:
20-38 days.
Habitat
Thecla betulae inhabits open sunny places of deciduous forests, rocky grasslands with scattered bushes and abundant Prunus spinosa from 300 up to 1500 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement considerable, population density difficult to estimate as the adults (especially ♂♂) are difficult to observe. Eggs can be found in big numbers on the Prunus spinosa foodplants.
Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Prunus spinosa, also mentioned are P. armenica, P. avium, P. cerasifera, P. cerasus and P. domestica, P. padus and P. persica.
Butterflies feed on honeydew and nectar of flowers.
Distribution
Albania: very local (more research needed)
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB* - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA* - EEU
Asia Minor*, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.
Conservation status
Thecla betulae is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: VA A1b.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.
Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps
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