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 mira Prunus mira Prunus mira, the smooth stone peach, smooth-pit peach or Tibetan peach, and locally called Behmi, Behimi or Tirul, is a species of "Prunus" native to the foothills of the Himalayas and the Tibetan plateau, at elevations typically between 2600 and 3000m, but ranging from 2000 to 4000m. "Prunus mira" grows to 3–10m tall and the trunks 16cm in diameter (DBH). The leaves are lanceolate, 5–10cm long and 1.2–4cm wide. The flowers are pinkish white. The 2-by-3cm ovoid fruit has white flesh. As the common name suggests, the stone is smooth. The trees are cultivated in some parts of