of Mt Gravatt Conservation Reserve

Compiled by Michael Fox www.megoutlook.wordpress.com/flora-fauna/butterflies/ © 2015 Creative Commons – free use with attribution to Mt Gravatt Environment Group

Hesperiidae Hesperilla ornata Spotted Sedge-skipper

Wingspan: Male 30mm Female 35mm

Caterpillar food : Saw Sedge Gahnia aspera

Males hilltop

Hesperiidae Ocybadistes walkeri Greenish Grass-dart

Wingspan: Male 20mm Female 20mm

Caterpillar food plants: Grasses Blady Grass Guinea Grass Panicum maximum (Weed)

Male sex brands

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Hesperiidae Trapezites iacchus Brown Ochre

Wingspan: Male 33mm Female 34mm

Caterpillar food plants: Wattle Mat-rush Lomandra filiformis Creek Mat-rush Lomandra hystrix Spiny Headed Mat-rush Lomandra longifolia

Males hilltop

Hesperiidae Trapezites symmomus Splendid Ochre

Wingspan: Male 42mm Female 46mm

Caterpillar food plants: Wattle Mat-rush Lomandra filiformis Creek Mat-rush Lomandra hystrix Spiny Headed Mat-rush Lomandra longifolia

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Lycaenidae Candalides absimilis Common Pencil-blue

Wingspan: Male 30mm Female 31mm

Caterpillar food plants: Tuckeroo Cupaniopsis anacardioides Easter Cassia Senna pendula (Weed) Golden Rain Koelreuteria elegans (Weed)

Female (left)

Lycaenidae Candalides erinus Small Dusky-blue

Wingspan: Male 22mm Female 22mm

Caterpillar food plants: Dodder Laurel Cassytha pubescens

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Lycaenidae Catopyrops florinda Speckled Line-blue

Wingspan: Male 22mm Female 22mm

Caterpillar food plants: Poison Peach Trema tomentose Native Mulberry Pipturus argenteus

Speckled Line-blue from top side. Note the tails resting on leaf.

Caterpillar with attendant ants on food Trema tomentosa. Speckled Line-blue caterpillars are not dependent on the presence of ants.

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Lycaenidae Jalmenus evagoras Imperial Hairstreak

Wingspan: Male 32mm Female 37mm

Caterpillar food plants: Sickle Leaved Wattle Acacia falcata Early Black Wattle Acacia leiocalyx

Imperial Hairstreaks mating.

Caterpillar and chrysalis with attendant “Kropotkin” ants – Small Meat Ant Ants provide protection in return for sugary fluids secreted by caterpillar.

Kropotkin is a reference to Russian biologist Peter Kropotkin who proposed a concept of evolution based on “mutual aid” between helping species from ants to higher mammals survive.

Imperial Hairstreaks will only return to breed where both caterpillar food plants and the ants are present.

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Lycaenidae Leptotes plinius Zebra Blue, Plumbago Blue

Wingspan: Male 22mm Female 23mm

Caterpillar food plants: Plumbago zeylanica (native) Plumbago auriculata (exotic)

Plants not found in Reserve. May be in surrounding gardens.

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Lycaenidae Psychonotis caelius Small Green-banded Blue

Wingspan: Male 30mm Female 32mm

Caterpillar food plants: Soapy or Red Ash Alphitonia excelsa

Caterpillar on Red Ash

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Nymphalidae Acraea andromacha Glasswing

Wingspan: Male 53mm Female 56mm

Caterpillar food plants: Spade Flower Hybanthus stellarioides Corky Passion Vine Passiflora suberosa (Weed)

Males Hilltop

Nymphalidae Danaus plexippus Monarch or Wanderer (Introduced)

Wingspan: Male 93mm Female 92mm

Caterpillar food plants: Balloon Cotton Bush Gomphocarpus physocarpus (Weed) Red-headed Cotton Bush Asclepias curassavica (Weed)

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Nymphalidae Doleschallia bisaltide Australian Leafwing

Wingspan: Male 70mm Female 80mm

Caterpillar food plants: Love Flower Pseuderanthemum variable

Drinking nectar with proboscis.

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Nymphalidae Euploea core Common Crow

Wingspan: Male 69mm Female 72mm

Caterpillar food plants: Monkey Rope straminea and other Parsonsia spp.

Male sex brand

Caterpillar and chrysalis

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Nymphalidae adiante Orange Ringlet

Wingspan: Male 24mm Female 32mm

Caterpillar food plants: Kangaroo Grass

Mating

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Nymphalidae Hypocysta irius Orange-streaked Ringlet

Wingspan: Male 33mm Female 35mm

Caterpillar food plants: Various grasses Family:

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Nymphalidae Hypocysta metirius Brown Ringlet

Wingspan: Male 31mm Female 31mm

Caterpillar food plants: Graceful Grass Ottochloa gracillima

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Nymphalidae Common or Varied Eggfly

Wingspan: Male 76mm Female 86mm

Caterpillar food plants: Love Flower Pseuderanthemum variable

Females are variable, photos show a female

Nymphalidae Junonia villida

Wingspan: Male 40mm Female 43mm

Caterpillar food plants: Trailing Speedwell Veronica plebeia Star Goodenia Goodenia rotundifolia

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Nymphalidae Melanitis leda Evening Brown

Wingspan: Male 60mm Female 63mm

Caterpillar food plants: Native and non-native grasses Blady Grass Imperata cylindrica Kangaroo Grass Themeda triandra Barbed Wire Grass Cymbopogon refractus Guinea Grass Panicum maximum

Summer/winter and wet/dry season forms have different colours and wing edge shaping.

Caterpillar

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Evening Brown cont.

Upperside colours (left)

Underside (right)

Evening Browns rarely sit with wings open … we normally just see a flash of orange as these butterflies swarm out of the grass when distrubed.

Nymphalidae Phaedyma shepherdi White-banded Plane, Common Aeroplane

Wingspan: Male 55mm Female 57mm

Caterpillar food plants: Chinese Elm Celtis sinensis (Weed)

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Nymphalidae Polyura sempronius Tailed Emperor

Wingspan: Male 70mm Female 80mm

Caterpillar food plants: Acacia spp. Chinese Elm Celtis sinensis (Weed)

Status: Uncommon but widespread

Chrysalis (right) looks like a miniature watermelon.

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Nymphalidae hamata Blue Tiger

Wingspan: Male 72mm Female 72mm

Caterpillar food plants: Migrant species – no food plants found in Reserve

Alkaloid sources: Parsonsia

Female (left)

Male (left)

Male sex brands

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Nymphalidae Vanessa itea Yellow Admiral

Wingspan: Male 50mm Female 50mm

Caterpillar food plants: Native Mulberry Pipturus argenteus

Males hilltop

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Nymphalidae Vanessa kershawi Australian Painted Lady

Wingspan: Male 43mm Female 47mm

Caterpillar food plants: None identified in Reserve.

4pm resting for night

8:30am warming in sun ready to fly

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Papilionidae sarpedon Blue Triangle

Wingspan: Male 57mm Female 60mm

Caterpillar food plants: Hairy-leaved Lollybush Clerodendrum tomentosum Camphor Laurel Cinnamomum camphora (Weed)

Puddling – drinking water from ground

Males hilltop

Mating

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Papilionidae Graphium eurypylus Pale Triangle

Wingspan: Male 59mm Female 62mm

Caterpillar food plants: None found in Reserve

Chrysalis found on – a fruit tree planted in the reserve.

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Papilionidae Papilio aegeus Orchard Swallowtail

Wingspan: Male 102mm Female 108mm

Caterpillar food plants: Backyard citrus Crow's Ash Flindersia spp.

Male (left)

Female laying eggs (right)

1st & 5th stage caterpillar (left)

Chrysalis (right)

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Papilionidae Papilio anactus Dainty Swallowtail/Dingy Swallowtail

Wingspan: Male 67mm Female 72mm

Caterpillar food plants: Backyard citrus Native Citrus spp.

Caterpillar

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Pieridae Yellow Albatross

Wingspan: Male 55mm Female 55mm

Caterpillar food plant: ilicifolia Native

Female

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Pieridae White

Wingspan: Male 55mm Female 55mm

Caterpillar food plant: Brush Caper Berry

Pieridae Catopsilia pyranthe Lemon Migrant

Wingspan: Male 58mm Female 58mm

Caterpillar food plants: None identified in Reserve

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Pieridae Delias nigrina Black Jezebel

Wingspan: Male 34mm Female 35mm

Lifespan (adult) – 2 to 6 weeks

Caterpillar food plants: None identified in Reserve

Male – upper side (left) underside (right)

Female (left) Scales (right) – thousands of scales create spectacular colour schemes.

Butterflies use sharp claws to scratch leaves and taste the leaf species.

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Pieridae Eurema brigitta No-brand Grass-yellow

Wingspan: Male 33mm Female 36mm

Caterpillar food plants: Fishbone Cassia Chamaecrista nomame

Pieridae Cabbage White (Introduced)

Sometimes confused with Cabbage Moth Plutella xylostella

Wingspan: Male 44mm Female 44mm

Caterpillar food plants: Common Peppercess Lepidium africanum (Weed)

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