Butterfly Inquiry - not birding - response

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From: Ted.Edwards, 

 

Danaus plexippus is very common in coastal NSW and Qld and there is a population in the southwest of WA. They are also in the warmer near coastal parts of Vic. and SA.

 

They are present on the south coast around Batemans Bay most summers but they move north, just as they move south in California, in autumn and overwinter on the central and northern NSW coast and the southern Qld coast and in sheltered places around Sydney.

 

During the drought years from 2000 to 2009 they never reached Canberra (or so rarely they were not noticed) but last year they were common in Canberra from November to March. I grow their foodplant (Gomphocarpus fruiticosus) in the garden and between November and March  larvae were always present and the adults we hanging around the garden most of that time. I had larvae of Danaus petilia on the plants at the same time.  G. fruiticosus is an African asclapiad on which they feed voraciously. D. plexippus will not feed on any of the native Australian Asclepiadaceae whereas  D. petilia, being a native butterfly, prefers the native asclepiads.

 

In case you are clued up botanically I know Asclepiadaceae have been subsumed into Apocynaceae but the butterflies distinguish the two.

 

Cheers,

 

 

Ted Edwards

CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences