I don't go chasing butterflies but I have been keeping an eye out for these. They are white-letter hairstreaks (Satyrium w-album) and have been seen on a couple of wych elms at the edge of Gosforth Park Nature Reserve for the past three weeks or so. I have looked for them each time I visited but had never seen one until yesterday morning.
White-letter hairstreak caterpillars feed exclusively on elm trees so the population suffered greatly when Dutch elm disease wiped out most of the trees 40 years ago.
The white letter is a 'W' on the underwings and white-letter hairstreaks always rest with their wings closed. I think these are all females - they were walking through the leaves looking for places to lay their eggs and have slightly longer "tails" on the back of the wings.
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