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 alleghaniensis bark is fissured in older specimens. The flowers are plentiful and white, eventually turning pink. The dark reddish purple fruit is half an inch (13 mm) wide, with a whitish bloom. "Prunus alleghaniensis" is not common in moist woodlands. It is typically found in elevations between . Prunus alleghaniensis Prunus alleghaniensis, the Allegheny plum, is a species of New World plum, native to the Appalachian Mountains from New York to Kentucky and North Carolina, plus the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. There are old reports of it growing also in New Jersey and Connecticut, but it now appears to have been