The first seven pictures below were taken in the Val d'Aran, in the Spanish Pyrenees, in July 2005. The last is from near Oxford, UK, in 1988.

In the UK I nearly always see white letter hairstreaks on bramble but in the Val d'Aran they were particularly attracted to flat, white flower clusters like these.

This one had been hit by a car but was still alive...

...so I tried to revive it by putting it on a nectar source.

This hairstreak is widespread and common, but also local and easily overlooked. I have found it in many places in southern England, as well as in Norway (near Oslo), France, Hungary and Spain. For me it has the distinction of being the first hairstreak I ever saw, when I was a child in England, and thus represents the whole group. It is easily identified, being boldly marked with a strong white 'W' on the hindwing. Its habitat is woodland and woodland edges, where it feeds readily on nectar sources.