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 microcarpa Prunus microcarpa Prunus microcarpa (small-fruited cherry, Arabic name: كرز صغير الثمر ) is a species of "Prunus" native to Western Asia and the Caucasus. "Prunus microcarpa" is a deciduous bushy shrub with rigid branchlets. Its glabrous leaves are ovate to elliptic. "Prunus microcarpa" produces white to pale pink hermaphrodite flowers in April. The flowers are solitary or in pairs and are 1 cm across. Its 1 cm-long fruit is ovoid and turns yellow to orange, red or black when ripe and may be toxic if consumed excessively. The shrub's fruit can be used to obtain a dark grey to green