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 salicina Prunus salicina Prunus salicina (syn. "Prunus triflora" or "Prunus thibetica"), commonly called the Japanese plum or Chinese plum, is a small deciduous tree native to China. It is now also grown in fruit orchards in Korea, Japan, the United States, and Australia. "Prunus salicina" should not be confused with the "Prunus mume", a related species of plum also grown in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. Another tree, "Prunus japonica", is also a separate species despite having a Latin name similar to "Prunus salicina"'s common name. Plant breeder Luther Burbank devoted a lot of work to hybridizing this species with the