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Spanish Purple Hairstreak
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Provence,
France, June 2003
Female showing
glimpse of upperside |
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Provence,
France, June 2003 (f) |
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I'm not very familiar with this very distinctive species having only found it
on a couple of occasions over the years. I found my site in Provence by looking
for its very conspicuous food plant - the Ash tree - which in the Mediterranean climate
will only grow near water courses. Its a butterfly that flies high around tree
tops so I was very lucky with this female to find her low enough down to video.
As with many woodland species, she was feeding on honeydew, the sugary excretion
deposited by aphids.
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