A few from the ACT and the Snowies
Hello all,
Last weekend, I headed south to Canberra to visit my son. He had to work until about 2pm so I spent the morning on Mt. Ainslie, a small hill on the edge of town. This was a great place for butterflies. There were many species at the hilltop and a "swarm" of 20-30 butterflies constantly chased each other over the forest canopy. Red-spotted Jezebels (Delias aganippe) were the most common butterfly in the swarm but there were also a few Imperial Jezebels (D. harpalyce), one Scarlet Jezebel (D. argenthona), many Glasswings (Acraea andromacha), one Blue Triangle (Graphium sarpedon), a few Dainty Swallowtails (Papilio anactus) and a single lovely Tailed Emperor (Polyura sempronius).
I also found a number of butterflies that visited the flowers of an ornamental bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.). Some of the canopy swarm would occasionally drop to the flowers and feed for a few seconds before heading back up to continue with the chase. Browns of several species were numerous in the grassy forest floor. Some of these and various species of lycaenids would also visit the flowers.
Here is a shot of Mt. Ainslie in the late afternoon:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Canberra4.jpg
... and views of Canberra from the lookout at the summit of Mt. Ainslie early in the morning:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Canberra2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Canberra1.jpg
Parliament House -- looks like a giant bunker to me.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Canberra3.jpg
I think that the following is an Imperial Hairstreak (Jalmenus evagoras). There were several of these at the flowers of the Callistemon.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...airstreak1.jpg
Another feeding with what I think to be an Arctiid:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...usevagoras.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...usevagoras.jpg
Your photos are looking great, David!
David: I understand you got the Tamron T180mm. You seem to be putting it to good use. It's on my list to buy once the weather warms up. Good to see the good results you are getting as well. william
Butterflies should begin to appear in a few weeks
David:
Last night the night temperatures were below freezing. Tonight a bit above and tomorrow is scheduled to be warm. March is typically cold/warm/cold. By the end of the month it is definately warmer. Cherry blossoms predicted to come out by March 30th. That means I should begin to spot the first European cabbage white fluttering around (usually the first) followed closely by the odd sulphur and possibly by the spring azure. We'll see increasing numbers of different species slowly come out, but the real season starts in July and ends in September.
I spend my time photographing ice formations and snow scenes, but am now focusing on the crocus and snowdrops that have appeared despite the cold weather. Then Cherry blossoms, daffodils, and tulips before the spring blooms hit in full force towards the end of April.
In May I'm heading off to Italy, Croatia, Greece, and Turkey for a cruise. We return home via London. We'll stay with friends whose daughter resides in Australia. We will chat about possibly visiting Australia with them. Might work. Would fly home via Singapore if I can find a place to stay that doesn't cost US$10,000 a night. Maybe an Elderhostel? Small hotel? Certainly not the big name hotels.
William
I will keep you in the loop
David:
I'm particularly interested in encountering all kinds of extremely poisonous species of deadly snakes. Your photographs have had a magical affect on me...or maybe not.
In any event, it somewhat depends on our UK friends and my wife. I'll work out our plans with you in mind. Have no idea where or when this might happen. William
