Chequered Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio demolius, sighted in ephemeral floodplains near Farina in the Far North Flinders Ranges.
Toward the end of the 2-4 week lifespan as an adult butterfly, fading of the wings can happen due to wear and tear, and UV bleaching, as seen in this Chequered Swallowtail feeding on an Eremophila flower in Copley.
Further information about Chequered Swallowtails can be found on the website managed by Butterfly Conservation SA.
If you are in a flutter about all of the local butterfly activity, see more posts on butterflies in the Flinders Ranges area, and identify your butterflies with the easy to use Butterfly Conservation SA online identification tool.
A datasheet on the Chequered Swallowtail can be found on the BCSA website.
The Chequered Copper Butterfly (Lucia limbaria) is considered rare due to land clearance. Observed in the central Flinders feeding on a Capeweed flower, it uses the nearby Native Oxalis as a host plant.
The Chequered Copper butterfly has a unique relationship with ants, as outlined by Butterfly Conservation SA:
“This ‘copper’ butterfly belongs to the endemic Australian Theclinae group, which have a very strong obligatory association with ants. Both sexes are immune to attacks from their larval attendant ants by having pheromones the same as the ants, with the butterflies remaining with impunity in the presence of ant trails or near the entrance to ant nests. Larvae are attended by numerous small, common black ants Iridomyrmex sp (gracilis and rufoniger groups). The relationship is obligatory although the early stages can survive in captivity without the presence of ants. Interestingly, the pheromones of each ant colony that may be looking after a Small Copper colony must be different to distal ant colonies as translocation experiments of butterfly larvae between distal ant colonies results in the demise of the larvae.”
The eye-catching Wood White Butterfly (Delias Aganippe), also known as the Red-Spotted Jezebel Butterfly has emerged in the Northern Flinders Ranges in the warm air of early spring. The larvae were observed in May, and the pupae were observed in late June.
Small White Butterfly (Pieris rapae) also known Cabbage White Butterfly, feeding in August.
Pupae, or chrysalises, of the Wood White Butterfly (Delias Aganippe) in the Northern Flinders Ranges in late June. The larvae were observed in May. Butterflies emerged in early August.
Wood White Butterfly (Delias Aganippe) also called the Red-Spotted Jezebel Butterfly in late larval form feeding on a young Quandong tree, Northern Flinders Ranges. Chrysalises were observed 5 weeks later and butterflies emerged in early August.
Dainty Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio anactus), sometimes known as the Small Citrus Butterfly in caterpillar form seen feeding on cumquat in April, soon to be transferred to the butterfly house at the Leigh Creek Library for observation.
Meadow Argus (Junonia villida calybe) butterfly resting near the ground in Italawi Gorge. Possible host plants in the area include local Goodenia, Fan flower and Convolvulus species.
The Leigh Creek School Community Library in the Northern Flinders Ranges is hosting a live display of locally cultivated Milkweed plants that are home to a dynamic microcosmic world of Milkweed Aphids, Ladybugs, Australian Lesser Wanderer Butterfly caterpillars and more. The insect lifecycles have captured the imagination of many people in the community, young and old.
The installation has tied in with STEM and English studies at the school, and has already expanded into host and nectar plant cultivation in the school nursery, and an outdoor butterfly enclosure. The project has also grown to include the emergence of various Hawk-moths and other insects found in the local area.
The star of the show, however, has been the stunning Australian Lesser Wanderer Butterflies, which after pupating in surprising places around the library are emerging day by day in the Library.
