Limenitis populi
Hostplant: Populus tremula
Lifecycle and behavior: Newly hatched females use around one week to develop eggs and to start egg laying. Eggs are laid on the upperside of the leaves, usually at the edge of the leaf, and commonly at the very tip of it. I got a lot of eggs from a female, but for some reason only about 10 eggs developed. The eggs used 7-8 days to hatch. The young larva has a characteristic eating pattern where they spare the midrib of the leaf and use it as a resting place. They even extend on it with silk threading. Usually the larva hibernates as L3 in a hiberaculum. To my surprise some of the larva went all the way to imago the same summer, hatching in August. The larval stage lasted about 4 weeks. Pupation stage lasted 10 days. The adult butterfly usually flies from late June to mid July.