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 tangutica Prunus tangutica Prunus tangutica () is a species of wild peach native to China. Based on its fruit traits it had been considered a wild almond, but genetic and morphological studies have shown that it is more closely related to "Prunus persica", the cultivated peach, with its closest relative being "Prunus mongolica". It is a very dense spiny shrub or shrubby tree, usually 1 to 2.5m tall but reaching 4m, preferring to grow on sunny slopes and alongside streams at 1500 to 2600m, but found as high as 3400m. Its flower petals are a pale pink, and its velutinous (velvety)