Purple Hairstreak - Purple Hairstreak

A butterfly belonging to the family Lycaenidae in the order Lepidoptera of the class Insecta. It is a common species found in evergreen broad-leaved forests in Honshu (warm areas west of the Kanto region), Shikoku, Kyushu and the Ryukyu Islands. Outside of Japan, it is also found in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan, but is not known to be found in mainland China on the opposite shore. The wingspan is about 35 mm. The upper surface of the wings of both males and females shines deep purple except for the black outer edge. The underside is gray-brown with indistinct markings. Eggs hatched by over-yearing mother butterflies become adults in the Kyushu plains from late May to early June, and from then on they continuously emerge, repeating several generations until autumn, and those that emerge in autumn overwinter as adults. The larvae feed on evergreen oaks (Quercus glauca, Quercus acuta, etc.). In places or seasons where there are no new oak buds, it can also be found on deciduous beech plants (such as oak, chestnut, Japanese oak, and cedar).

[Takashi Shiramizu]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱鱗翅(りんし)目シジミチョウ科に属するチョウ。本州（関東地方以西の暖地）、四国、九州より琉球(りゅうきゅう)諸島にかけての照葉樹林に分布する普通種。国外では朝鮮半島南部、台湾にも産するが、対岸の中国大陸からは知られていない。はねの開張35ミリ内外。はねの表面は外縁の黒い縁どりを除き、雌雄とも濃紫色に輝く。裏面は灰褐色で不鮮明な斑紋(はんもん)がある。越年した母チョウから生まれた卵が成虫になるのは九州の平地で5月下旬～6月上旬ごろから、以後は連続的に発生して秋まで数回の世代を繰り返し、秋に発生したものはそのまま成虫で越冬する。幼虫の食草は常緑性のカシ類（アラカシ、アカガシ、その他）。カシ類の新芽のない場所や季節には、落葉性のブナ科植物（コナラ、クヌギ、ミズナラ、カシワなど）につくこともある。

［白水　隆］

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