Purple hairstreak
The Purple hairstreak spends nearly its whole adult life in oak canopies, feeding mainly on honeydew rather than flower nectar, and rarely comes down to ground level.
| Where | Oak woodland, parks and hedgerows |
|---|---|
| Size | 31 to 40 mm wingspan |
| When | June to August |
The Purple hairstreak is a small butterfly with a silvery grey underside marked by a white streak and an orange spot near a short tail on each hindwing; males show a broad blue purple sheen above, while females have purple patches on an otherwise blackish wing.
Caterpillars feed only on oak leaves, hatching in spring from eggs laid singly at the base of oak buds the previous autumn, and adults fly from June to August, gathering and chasing one another around the tops of oak trees.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Blue, Grey
Active
Day
To people
Seen fluttering around oak canopies in sunshine; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar in size at about 36 mm wingspan, but underside brown rather than silvery grey, crossed by a white W shaped line and lacking the orange hindwing spot of the Purple hairstreak.
Questions
Is the Purple hairstreak dangerous to people?
Seen fluttering around oak canopies in sunshine; harmless to people.
When can you see the Purple hairstreak?
The Purple hairstreak can be seen from June to August, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Frans Slieker, Natural History Museum Rotterdam, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Favonius
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.