Choose a butterfly to learn more about that breed...
Blue
TriangleSeen: It flies rapidly but often visits flowers. These butterflies love daisies especially yellow ones. In the south you can see them in Spring and Autumn but in the warmer regions you are likely to see them all year.
Eggs: Yellowish-green egg is globular, and is laid singly on the young shoots of the food plants.
Caterpillar: Green and strongly humped. Across the third segment is a yellow bar with a spine at each end. Above the legs is a creamy lateral line. When irritated it will give off a strong odour. Pupae are usually found on the underside of a shady leaf.
Eats: The caterpillar likes alot of things including camphor laurel, sassafras and laurel mahogany.
Green
Spotted TriangleSeen: This butterfly flies very quickly and when rests on a flower keeps its wings beating rapidly. It is seen in jungle areas and warm climates.
Eggs: Large pale yellow egg, globular in shape. Laid singly on young shoots of the food plant.
Caterpillar: Yellowish with dark patches. End of the caterpillar carries blue-black spines. The body is very bumpy.
Eats: The caterpillar likes Custard Apple and Mitrephora froggatti.
Imperial
WhiteSeen: These butterflies fly rather high but very slowly. On hot days they will come down and rest in shady gullies or leaves. They also like native cherry, quandong and various kinds of mistletoe. They can be seen in August until October and then from February to March.
Eggs: Yellow eggs are laid in clusters from twenty to sixty on one food leaf.
Caterpillar: This caterpillar has a black head crowned with a few white hairs. The body is dark brown and also has long white hairs.
Eats: The caterpillar likes mistletoe, wattle and eucalyptus. They create a large silky white nest when they are ready to become pupue.
Cairns
BirdwingSeen: Males are the highly coloured of the species (see pic) whereas the female is different shades of brown and is much larger than her male conterpart. They are seen in the tropical rainforest areas.
Eggs: Large round egg yellow in colour. Laid singly on the underside of food leaves.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is dark brown or smokey black. The body is covered with serveral rows of long finely-pointed spines which are black at their tips and bases and pinkish-red in between. The head is shiny black and has a white mark on the face.
Eats: The caterpillar likes dutchman's pipe, a climbing paint with a milky sap.
View Large Picture - Front View Side View
Wanderer
or MonarchSeen: It is a strong and rapid flier and it visits flowers at all times of the day. It's favourite is milk-weed.
Eggs: Large round egg yellow in colour. Laid singly on the underside of food leaves.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is a smooth creamy yellow with black bands. At each end of the body it has a pair of long black tentacles.
Eats: The caterpillar likes swan plant, red cotton weed and milk weed. When these plants are broken they exude a milky white sap that has an unpleasant smell. It is believed that the butterflies are bad tasting to birds due to this sap.
Common
EggflySeen: During late Summer and Autumn.
Eggs: The egg is spherical, pale blueish yellow and is ribbed. It is laid singly on the leaves of food-plants.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is long and cylindrical and is dark brown with long rows of hairy spines. The head is orange brown with two long black hairy horns. They like to feed at night and hide in the shade during the day.
Eats: The caterpillar likes portulaca, paddy's lucerne and a variety of other plants.
GlasswingSeen: They are seen all year round in the Northern parts in Australia. In the Southern areas it can be seen during the warmer months from late Summer to Autumn. Flight is very weak.
Eggs: Eggs are yellowish with vertical ribs and are laid in clusters on the food-plant.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is brownish black and is covered with rows of branching spines. The upper part of the head is yellow the lower black.
Eats: The caterpillar likes passionfruit vines.
Australian Painted LadySeen: They are seen all year round in the Northern parts in Australia. In the Southern areas it can be seen during August until May. They fly very quickly but love visiting flowers.
Eggs: Eggs are round and pale blue-green in colour and are ribbed. They are laid singly on food plants.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is brown with rows of branching spines.
Eats: The caterpillar likes capeweed.
Common
BrownSeen: November until April. They fly very quickly but like resting on the ground.
Eggs: Eggs are dropped on the ground as the female flies over the grass. The eggs are a creamy colour.
Caterpillar: The caterpillar is brown with dark patches on its body. The head is dark brown.
Eats: The caterpillar likes any kind of grass. They hide under stones during the day and come out to feed at night.
