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Southern Highlands, NSW
Greetings,
This has been the coldest December since 1960. It seems to be grey and wet most days so conditions have not been ideal for butterfly photography. Today, the clouds cleared at noon. I hopped into the car and drove up to the southern highlands to a place that I found last summer. This site is along a reservoir and has dense thickets of spike-rush (Lomandra sp.), sword-grass (Gahnia sp.), Tea Trees (Leptospermum sp.) and ferns. Further from the water a patches of Eucalyptus woodland.
Here are photos from the visit today.
Habitat:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...1/habitat1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...1/habitat2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...1/habitat3.jpg
Common Browns (Heteronympha merope) were abundant, especially along dirt tracks through the forest. I saw large numbers of these sexually dimorphic butterflies.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...mmonBrown6.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...Brownmale2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...Brownmale3.jpg
Females always attracted the attention of males. In the shots below, a male landed next to the female and then hopped towards her with open wings. At times the male would knock the female until she finally took flight with him in close pursuit. Sometimes, the females would lay flat in the grass while the male danced around them.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...mmonBrown4.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...mmonBrown2.jpg
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The browns and rings in Australia are very colourful.:grin2: Only dull colored rings and browns(which makes it boring) can be found in Singapore.
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Thanks, Brian. Yes, there are a number of nicely coloured browns here. Some of these are fairly large when compared with genera like Mycalesis.
male Bright Shield-Skipper (Signeta flammeata). This was my first for the season. Last summer, this was the most commonly seen skipper in the area.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...d-Skipper1.jpg
Fringed-lily (Thysanotus sp.)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ingedLily1.jpg
I saw the following animals last weekend in the hills not far from my home. I think that the spider is one of the funnel-webs. It was not cooperative but it did rear and lift its massive fangs. Unfortunately, it was facing away from me so the fangs were not visible in the photo.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...WebSpider2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...WebSpider1.jpg
Red-bellied Black Snakes (Pseudechis porphyriacus) are one of the most common elapids in this area. They are nicely coloured snakes that are shy and fast moving. It is hard to get close enough for a photo.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...lackSnake1.jpg
Regards,
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Jan 2012
The monsoon in Australia has been a big one this year. Clouds from this have spilled down the east coast resulting in a wet January in Wollongong. I have hardly been out at all. Today was not too bad with occasional breaks in the rain. I headed back to the Robertson and Fitzroy Falls areas to see what might be out. In December, the butterfly bush (Buddleia sp.) that I found last year did not have a bud. Now, the shrub was covered with flowers and there were a number of butterflies visiting these. Most remained high up so it was easy to take photos in the afternoon. I will visit this shrub a few more times over the next couple of weeks so hopefully will find more cooperative butterflies.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../buddleia1.jpg
Tea Trees (Leptospermum sp.) were also in full flower near Fitzroy Falls. I did not see the numbers or variety of butterflies that I found last year but there still was a fair amount of activity.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ptospermum.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...2/habitat1.jpg
Here are a few shots of what I encountered. I tried shrimp paste today as bait but nothing at all was attacted to it.
Meadow Argus (Junonia villida). I only saw a few of these.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...niavillida.jpg
Yellow Admiral (Vanessa itea). Saw a few of these.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...anessaitea.jpg
Ringed Xenicas (Geitoneura acantha) are much more common this year than last summer.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...raacantha2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...raacantha3.jpg
I saw two Imperial Jezebels (Delias harpalyce). Also saw a single Yellow-spotted Jezebel (D. nysa) but it remained too high for photos.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...sharpalyce.jpg
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Bright Shield Skippers (Signeta flammeata) were the most commonly encountered skipper. These are shots of females.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ldSkipper1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...aflammeata.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...aflammeata.jpg
This Lilac Grass-Skipper (Toxidia doubledayi) was in good condition. I quite like these distinctively marked skippers.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../skipper1b.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...2/skipper2.jpg
I saw several male Barred Skippers (Dispar compacta).
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...12/dartlet.jpg
This Eastern Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua scincoides) surprised me while I was walking through the grass near the butterfly bush. I initially thought that it was a Tiger Snake.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...guedSkink1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...guedSkink2.jpg
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David,
Beautiful and well taken series !!
Thank You for sharing with us!
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David, beautiful and interesting shots from a more beautiful country
:cheers:
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Nice set there David. :cheers:
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Nice shots.
The orchid could be a Pterostylis sp.
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Beautiful series David. :)
:cheers:
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Thanks very much, everyone.
Aaron, I think that you are correct about the orchid. After searching this name, I think that it looks quite like Pterostylis concinna. The following site looks to be very good for the terrestrial Aussie orchids:
http://www.upclose.net.au/gallery/fo...b_gallery.html
Regards,
David
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I recently had a few days in Canberra for work. On the last afternoon, I was able to leave early and then head up to Mt. Ainslie for a few photos. This place can be quite good for butterflies but it is the best in the morning while the butterflies are cool.
A big thunderstorm was building in the afternoon.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3.../Canberra1.jpg
Chequered Coppers (Lucia limbaria) were numerous. This seems to be a good place for this species.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...alimbaria1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...alimbaria2.jpg
Several Dainty Swallowtails (Papilio anactus) were hilltopping.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...wallowtail.jpg
Two-spottedLine-Blue (Nacaduba biocellata)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...biocellata.jpg
Regards,
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I headed back to butterfly bush and resivoir area again today. As before, it was a cloudy day with threatening rain but it held off while I was there. The flowers are not lasting long this year so I probably will only have another week or two to see butterflies on these shrubs.
Here is today's (28 Jan) haul.
Imperial Jezebels (Delias harpalyce) were numerous in the morning on the butterfly bush.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...arpalyce-1.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...sharpalyce.jpg
I also saw one on the Tea Tree flowers (Leptospermum).
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...sharpalyce.jpg
A Red-spotted Jezebel (Delias aganippe) was also visiting the Tea Tree flowers.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...edJezebel3.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...dJezebel1c.jpg
I am not seeing as many Black Jezebels (Delias nigrina) as I did last year.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ackJezebel.jpg
Several Yellow-spotted Jezebels (Delias nysa) were feeding from the butterfly bush flowers.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...edJezebel2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...edJezebel1.jpg
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Lovely skippers you have there!
I think you probably caught all the local Delias in one day, congratulations. Does Delias argenthona reach as far south as you? Otherwise, the only other Australian Delias is D. aruna inferna, which can only be found at the northern tip of Cape York Peninsular. I don't think I have forgotten any.:thinking:
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Wow!:what:
The imperial jezebel shot is :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
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Thanks, Jonathan and Les.
Sorry for the delay in replying, Les. I am painting at the moment ... no fun at all!
Delias argenthona does reach this area but it is erratic and a non-breeder. Last year, I saw one at the Fitzroy Falls Resivoir and also others at Mt. Ainslie in Canberra. So far, I have not seen any this summer. Here is a shot from last year:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...etJezebel2.jpg
Delias aruna would be wonderful! I looked for it on my single trip up Cape York but did not see any at all.
We do have two more Jezebels. This Yellow-banded Jezebel (Delias ennia) from the Atherton Tablelands was a new one to me last November. It always stayed high so I could not take better photos.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...dedJezebel.jpg
A Red-banded ("Union Jack") (Delias mysis) Jezebel was feeding in the same tree as the Yellow-banded Jezebel. It also remained too high for decent photos.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...dedJezebel.jpg
Regards,
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My God, my memory is failing! Of course you also have those two.
Delias mysis is found in three subspecies, D. m. mysis down the Queensland coast, Cooktown southwards, D. m. waterhousei is found only at the extreme northern tip of Cape York, and D. m. aestiva, from the Darwin area.
You also have two subspecies of D. ennia, D. e. nigidius, on the Queensland coast south from Cairns down to approx. Townsville, and D. e. tindalii, from just above Cookstown northwards to approx. Cape Grenville.
Some of the ranges may have changed a bit since my last records, but they are as up to date as I have. Some may have now been synonymised! I have been concentrating so much on Samui and regional species that I have completely neglected the Delias.
Incidentally, my Delias website is now closed. A friend is supposed to be reopening it up under his ownership, but it is taking longer than anticipated.
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For a change, we had good weather this weekend with only a little rain yesterday morning. I decided not to waste the conditions since rain is forecast for the remainder of the week. Yesterday, I returned to butterfly bush and the flowering Tea Trees at Fitzroy Falls Resivoir. After that, I went for a walk of a few hours along the eastern rim of the gorge. In general, I did not see many butterflies.
Numbers and diversity of butterflies has been low this year. I assume that this has been due to our heavy summer rain. Last week, the rains were torrential along the east coast and there are many places in flood at the moment.
I will start with habitat shots on the rim of the Fitzroy Fall gorge. I walked this with hopes of finding Eastern Iris Skippers and Silver-spotted Ochres that I encountered in this area last year. Unfortunately, I saw neither of these and in fact, was not able to take a single butterfly photo. There were a few Barred Skippers, Splendid Ochres, Common Grass-Blues, Rock Ringlets and Black Jezebels in the area but none cooperated for photos.
Fitzroy Falls is a beautiful place and always a nice place for a walk.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...royFalls2a.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...royFalls2c.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls3.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls4.jpg
The main falls:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls6.jpg
I leaned over the rail to take this shot of the falls:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls5.jpg
And a lower falls:
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls1.jpg
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The Tea Trees (Leptospermum sp.) at the Fitzroy Falls Resivoir only had a few remaining flowers. I did find others on the return trip that looked good. I will need to revisit these soon before they also drop their petals.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ospermumsp.jpg
Butterflies at Fitzroy Falls Resivoir included a number of Spotted Browns (Heteronympha paradelpha). These were the first of the species that I have observed this season. A number of the satyrids emerge late and are only active from Feb-April or so.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ttedBrowna.jpg
Marbled Xenicas (Geitoneura klugii) were not more common and Ringed Xenicas were less common than at the start of the year.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...bledXenica.jpg
Splendid Ochre (Trapezites symmomus). These are such big skippers. They usually fly slowly with noisy wingbeats.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ndidOchre2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...endidOchre.jpg
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Painted Sedge-Skipper (Hesperilla picta)
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ge-Skipper.jpg
These might be my final shots of the Imperial Jezebel (Delias harpalyce) until next season. The butterfly bush has nearly completed its flowering this season. After that, I usually only see the Jezebels high overhead.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ialJezebel.jpg
An Imperial Jezebel with a Yellow Admiral (Vanessa itea).
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...lowAdmiral.jpg
Jacky Lizard (Amphibolurus muricatus): they blend well with fallen branches and are easy to overlook.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ackyLizard.jpg
Ants that had formed a bivoauc against a fallen log.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...b2012/ants.jpg
A Peregrine Falcon harassed a juvenile Wedge-tailed Eagle as it soared over the gorge. Both of these birds are an uncommon sight at Fitzroy Falls.
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ineFalcon2.jpg
http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...zroyFalls2.jpg
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Great butterfly shots. The flowers of the triggerplant are very interesting.:) I looked at the animation in the link and it seemed very cute when the male and female flower parts just popped out. If someone accidentally brushed against the flower, will the stigma etc pop out?;P
