Black hairstreak forewings. The most conclusive way to distinguish the two is by the row of black spots accompanying the orange band which the white-letter hairstreak never has. They spend most of their lives in the canopy or in dense scrub, feeding on honeydew, and very rarely come down to ground level. Eggs are laid singly on young blackthorn "Prunus spinosa" growth and it is this stage which hibernates. Although blackthorn is the main foodplant, wild plum "Prunus domestica" and other "Prunus" spp are occasionally used. The caterpillar hatches the following spring, at the end of April, just before the buds open
Prunus Prunus Prunus is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes the plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the northern temperate regions, there are 430 different species classified under "Prunus". Many members of the genus are widely cultivated for their fruit and for decorative purposes. "Prunus" fruit are defined as drupes, or stone fruits, because the fleshy mesocarp surrounding the endocarp (pit or stone) is edible. Most "Prunus" fruit and seeds are commonly used in processing, such as jam production, canning, drying or roasting. Members of the genus can be deciduous or evergreen. A few species have