Thecla betulae (Linnaeus, 1758)


Thecla betulae: Female (e.o., S-Germany, Memmingen, 2023) [S] Thecla betulae: Female (e.o., S-Germany, Memmingen, 2023) [S] Thecla betulae: Female (e.o., S-Germany, Memmingen, 2023) [S] Thecla betulae: Female (e.o., S-Germany, Memmingen, 2023) [S] Thecla betulae: Male (e.o., S-Germany, Memmingen, 2023) [S] Thecla betulae: Male (S-Germany, Oberlauda, 10. August 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Male (S-Germany, Oberlauda, 10. August 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Lower side [N] Thecla betulae: Adult (e.l. S-Germany, Illerbeuren, 2014) [S] Thecla betulae: Adult [N] Thecla betulae: Female, Illerbeuren near Memmingen, S-Germany, garden, September 2013) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus padus (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus padus (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus domestica (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus domestica (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus domestica (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus cerasifera (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus cerasifera (S-Germany, Memmingen, 23. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus spinosa (S-Germany, Memmingen, 14. December 2020) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus spinosa (S-Germany, Memmingen, 14. December 2020) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus spinosa (S-Germany, Memmingen, 14. December 2020) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg on Prunus spinosa (S-Germany, Heidenheim, 23. March 2009) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg (Illerbeuren near Memmingen, S-Germany, February 2014) [N] Thecla betulae: Ovum [N] Thecla betulae: Egg (S-Germany, Memmingen, 07. March 2022) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg (S-Germany, Memmingen, 07. March 2022) [N] Thecla betulae: Ovae in fork [N] Thecla betulae: Ovae (Heidenheim/Brenz, eastern Swabian Alb, southern Germany, 29. November 2009) [N] Thecla betulae: Eggs (S-Germany, Heidenheim/Brenz, 29. November 2009) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg shell after hatching (S-Germany, Memmingen, 2021) [S] Thecla betulae: Egg shell, still detectable after months after hatching (S-Germany, memmingen, 31. October 2022) [N] Thecla betulae: Egg shell, still detectable after months after hatching (S-Germany, memmingen, 31. October 2022) [N] Thecla betulae: L1 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva at the end of the first instar (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva at the end of the first instar (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L1 larva at the end of the first instar (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L2 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L3 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L3 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L3 larva (S-Germany, Memmingen, 08. June 2014)) [M] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (S-Germany, Memmingen, mid-June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: Larva [M] Thecla betulae: Larva [M] Thecla betulae: Larva (Illerbeuren near Memmingen, early June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: Larva (Illerbeuren near Memmingen, early June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: Larva (Illerbeuren near Memmingen, early June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: Larva (Illerbeuren near Memmingen, early June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: L4 larva (S-Germany, Memmingen, mid-June 2014) [M] Thecla betulae: L4 larva with darkened colour prior to pupation (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: Prepupa (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa (e.l. Illerbeuren 2014) [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa (e.l. Illerbeuren 2014) [S] Thecla betulae: Pupa prior to eclosion (e.o. rearing, S-Germany, Memmingen, 2022) [S] Thecla betulae: Habitat: Prunus spinosa at the woodland margin at the time of the L1-larvae [N] Thecla betulae: Habitat in a blackthorn-rich woodland edge (S-Germany, Böblingen, 12. April 2020)  [N] Thecla betulae: Larval habitat: regularly cut, single young blackthorn of a few centimetres to a few decimetres height, additionally with S. acaciae eggs (S-Germany, Heidenheim, 01. January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Larval habitat where the species is syntopical with S. acaciae (young, marginal sloes) and S. pruni (larger sloes) (S-Germany, Heidenheim, 22. May 2008) [N] Thecla betulae: Larval habitat where also S. pruni occurs (Memmingen, January 2023) [N] Thecla betulae: Larval habitat on a blackthorn-rich woodland edge where also S. pruni, F. quercus (on oak) and S. w-album (on elm) occur (Memmingen, January 2023) [N]

Host plants:
The larvae feed on woody rose plants especially of the genus Prunus, mostly Prunus spinosa, but also Prunus domestica, Prunus avium, P. padus etc.

Habitat:
Thecla betulae inhabits all habitats with the occurrence of at least partial sunny host plants (sometimes also in full shade) no matter of which size. I found eggs and caterpillars together with those of Satyrium acaciae on hot limestone grasslands and rocks on only a few centimeters long Prunus spinosa as well as in the garden or together with Satyrium pruni in old hedges at the woodland edge.

Life cycle:
The eggs hibernate obviously with no larval development until late winter, hatch comparatively late in April and the larvae show a comparatively slow development. So the caterpillars are usually mature not before mid or late June. They have - as all central European hairstreaks - only three larval moults and thus four instars. Adults fly between late July and October, but are usually observed in September when at their more conspicuous oviposition flight. The eggs are deposited singly or more rarely also as pairs mostly on young twigs from near the ground up to several metres above ground.

Endangerment factors:
Thecla betulae is not endangered and still widely distributed if appropriate detection methods are used (searching for eggs in winter).

Remarks:
Thecla betulae is distributed from northern Spain, northern Portugal and the more southern parts of the British Isles across central Europe and temperate Asia to the Pacific. In Europe, Thecla betulae misses in most areas of the southern Mediterranean region (to the south as far as central Italy and northern Greece) and also in central and northern Scandinavia.



Callophrys avis | Callophrys rubi | Favonius quercus | Laeosopis roboris | Satyrium acaciae | Satyrium esculi | Satyrium ilicis | Satyrium ledereri | Satyrium pruni | Satyrium spini | Satyrium w-album