Tiny Treasures

Jono Leadley, northern regional manager at Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reveals the magic of Yorkshire’s little butterflies

- Jono Leadley

Many of us will be familiar with several species of butterfly, including handsome red admirals, the delightful sulphur-yellow brimstone and the ubiquitous ‘cabbage’ whites that sometimes lay waste to our veggies. Perhaps slightly less well-known are some of the smaller butterflies, exquisite jewels that live out their lives mostly unseen, unless you really look! These tiny treasures have fascinating life cycles and are a joy to behold if you track one down.

HIGH IN THE TREES The hairstreak butterflies get their name from the thin white line on their underwings. Three of the five British species can be found in Yorkshire; purple, white-letter and green. Purple and white-letter hairstreaks are a challenge to find as they spend most of their time in the canopy of large trees (oak for purple and elm for white-letter), and take patience and binoculars to get a good view. The adults mainly feed on honeydew secreted by aphids high in the trees, which they drink from the surface of leaves and twigs. Large, mature trees can sometimes host entire colonies of these small butterflies. In very hot and dry spells, these butterflies may descend to seek nectar on patches of bramble flowers or thistle heads, giving us a much better chance of having a closer view.