Keswick Island butterflies

I am not long back from a week on Keswick Island, one of the Cumberland group of islands in the southern part of the Whitsunday archipelago, off Mackay, Queensland, Australia. Only a week, but it has taken me about the same time to identify the butterflies I saw there. They were so easy to see that I saw most in one day, every day. I am now confident of about twenty species, thanks to help in the identification by Suzi Bond. There were about another ten species that I saw but could not grab a photograph of, and it is winter, or rather the dry season there. Here are some of my pick-of shots.



Blue Tiger Tirumala hamata, these were the most abundant species, clusters of them were roosting under branches when I first went out for a walk in the evening after unpacking the bags. I had gone out to listen and spotlight for wildlife, and this was so unexpected. Next morning there were clouds of them fluttering in the forest rides.



Varied Eggfly Hypolimas bolina - male. These butterflies were also abundant, although never in clouds. They seemed to be slow starters in the morning, much easier to photograph than the tigers. They have a lovely velvet sheen on their wings.



Clearwing Swallowtail  Cressida cressida - male, probably the second most common species. Many were freshly emerged with clean edged wings and lustrous shine. The glasswing occurs because there are no coloured scales on the translucent parts of their wings.

Clearwing Swallowtail - female. This lady still has soft wings, which are bent on the fore edges. She was fluttering low from nectar-bearing flower to the next, keen for a feed, energy and agility. Her second life had begun. What a gorgeous face.



Varied Eggfly - female. Not all the butterflies were fresh, this one was old, as can be seen by her tattered wings, very tattered wings. As this was in mid-dry season, I wonder when she emerged.



Orange Palm Dart Cephrenes augiades. Not all butterflies are large and dramatic. This species was abundant and well worth a close look. Its wingspan is only 40 mm, and see how it holds its wings, the fore-wings are half-erect. Its body was covered with hair-type cells, so it would endure the cooler nights quite easily. The temperature dropped to only a few degrees on several nights during my stay.



Purple Cerulean Jamides phaseli. We can't see it when the wings are held closed, but when this one flies it flashes a delightful purple-gloss upper-wing. Again, a lovely face, with marvelous antennae.



Orange Ringlet Hypocysta adiante. One of the trickier species to photograph. I could not capture one with its wings spread. These lived along the rough roadside vegetation, basking on the path, grasses or as here on stones. Both this and the next shot show how well they are camouflaged and disappear from our relatively poor sight when they land.



Orange Ringlet. This one was siphoning water from a mud-puddle. A favourite drinking method by butterflies. Meanwhile it is safely concealed by its resemblance to the background leaf.



Orange Bush-brown Mycalesus terminus. It is there, it is the same specimen as in the next image, so use that as a guide to its whereabouts in this picture. So many butterflies are difficult to see when they land. We tend to have to flush them first by accident, then watch until they land again. I memorise the exact surroundings, mark the spot and creep up slowly for a close view.



Orange Bush-brown. Now, can you see it. The shadow of the grass across the wing hides it from this angle, matching the dark fore-edge to the wings.



Monarch Danaus plexippus. It goes dark early in the tropics and by late afternoon most of the butterflies were slowing down and settling to roost as it grew dark. Each species have there own roosting sites, and this Monarch was amongst the Blue Tigers, back in the first roost I discovered. Thirty species in one day, perhaps more. Not a bad winter count. What is it like in summer.

Forest Butterflies

It's still hot in Canberra and there are a great number of butterflies about, although apart from the occasional flutter-by their abundance is not obvious. Those in the forest are keeping low and in shade for much of the day, like this Common Brown Heteronympha merope which, typical of its species, was sitting hidden on the forest floor litter with its wings closed, only flying when disturbed by my footfall close by. Then about a dozen others erupted from the litter. They should have stayed where they were as I wasn't about to trample them and I certainly had not seen them.

Many other Common Browns were hanging from the drooping branches and leaves of the trees, or on the trunks, wherever there was shade from the intense sunshine. This one has a very abraded wing and the pattern of the other upper forewing can be partially seen, enough to recognise it as a female by the large blotchy markings.

In amongst the Common Browns were several Marbled Xenicas Geitoneura klugii which closed their wings as soon as they landed on the litter and simply disappeared from my vision. I clould only grab this one shot through the grases as one landed and immediately closed its wings.

Then in a sunny open glade where there was a patch of heath and low-growing herbs I saw a few of these delicate little Blotched Dusky-blues Candalides acasta. The blotch refers to the large smudged dark grey spot on the edge of the hindwing.

This was as wide as this butterfly held its wings open. A pity as the soft blue on the upper wings has an elegant tone.

I watched a group of Stencilled Hairstreaks Jalmanus ictinus chasing one another and laying eggs on a wattle tree, but they were to high to photograph. However, I did take some shots of this Imperial Hairstreak J. evagoras as it perched on smaller wattle bush.

The back edge of this species' hind wing is coloured and curled in a curious way. And the butterfly was moving each hindwing slowly and asynchronously as if to imitate another animal, or to give the impression that its head was at that end if any potential predator was nearby. When seen from above, the modified wings have a three-dimensional appearance, adding further to the impression of perhaps a head on an otherwise slim body.

The wavy edge to the hind wings seen from below.

Occasionally, the butterfly opened its wings to reveal a shimmering coat of scales. And when it flew, as when I first saw it and probably the only reason I spotted it, it was a blue light shining in the shade of the forest.

Hot and Thirsty Butterflies



A flock of butterflies reflected in the water next to where they were sipping from the wet mud on the pool margin. They never drank directly from the open water.

It has been hot and sunny in the Canberra area since Christmas and all sorts of wildlife have been going to drink at whatever water-sources they can find. There were thousands of butterflies at one small puddle straddling a woodland path, lifting as a cloud as I passed then settling to drink as soon as I was one stride away. They must have been thirsty. I was too, and I was on my way back from a long hot walk, but the effect of their colourful wings was so mesmerising that I had to stop and grab some shots of them.

A Common Grass-blue Zizina otis and an Australian Painted Lady Vanessa kershawi perch on a raised piece of mud, while a troop of ants gather water near to the dead body of a Common Grass-blue.

A group of Common Grass-blues settle on the mud, one with very worn wings.

A Common Grass-blue drinks from the mud, two Cabbage Whites Pieris rapae stand in the background.

A group of Cabbage Whites gather on the mud.

A freshly emerged Cabbage White on the left compared with a tattered-winged older one on the right.

A Cabbage White draws water up through its long thin proboscis.

And another is attacking by an ant as it drinks. The butterflies were restless as they were repeatedly being disturbed by the ants.

The distinctive wing-spots on the upperside of a Meadow Argus Junonia villida.

As with so many butterflies, the underside of the Meadow Argus's wings are dull, this helps to conceal the insect when it rests with its wings closed.

This was the view I had when lying flat on the edge of the pool taking the photographs. It was a wonderful experience to lie there less than a metre from hundreds of butterflies fluttering around me. Just me in a wood, by a pool at ground level sharing the insects' view of the world, on a hot summer day.