Some butterfly stuff

["Steve Holliday" <>]

Yes it has been a pretty good butterfly season. Small Grass Yellows appeared in some numbers at Goorooyarroo NR a week or two ago and I am still seeing the occasional one. I think their appearance in Canberra is fairly erratic and that they don’t usually breed locally. Other species seen at Gooroo recently include Chequered Copper, Stencilled Hairstreak and Shouldered Brown.

 

The summits of Mts Ainslie and Majura are reliable spots for Dainty Swallowtails, there can be three or four patrolling around the top of Mt Ainslie at times.

 

Steve

 

From: Christian Fricker [
Sent: Sunday, 18 March 2012 1:38 PM
To: ; COG
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Some butterfly stuff

 

Correct on ID!  I have noticed quite a few over the past week frequenting yards and also Lake BG. 

Dainty Swallowtails are not common locally, although there are a few gardens I know of with lemon trees which they can been seen most years.
At Bot gardens yesterday there were good numbers of Imperial Jezabel, a few Glasswings and Macleay's Swallowtail were still about.  

Cheers,

Christian

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From:
To: m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");">
Date: Sun, 18 Mar 2012 12:49:11 +1100
Subject: [canberrabirds] Some butterfly stuff

As anyone who poked their nose out the door during the 20110/11 summer would have  noticed it was a cracker season for butterflies, and the summer just ended wasn’t too bad either; particularly the number of Orchard Swallowtails we saw in our garden from November – and they’re still around – was pleasantly phenomenal, most sightings were males but quite a few femmes too. And early last December  I saw  a Dainty Swallowtail – first time I’ve noticed one in the ACT.

Last week we saw a yellow butterfly – c.25mm wingspan – flying rapidly one metre above the ground. Referring to Braby we concluded it might have been a Small Grass-yellow Eurema smilax which, according to the distribution map, could pass through the ACT any time of year. Has anyone identified this species locally?

John K. Layton

Holt.