BUTTERFLIES
Scarlet Jezebel. Photo credit Naomi Mutch
Swallowtailed butterfly. Photo credit emer1940
The Jezebel butterflies, genus Delias is a group of beautiful butterflies with stunning combinations of colours of red, yellow, black and white.
In every culture, it is not hard to find associations between butterflies and beautiful things and concepts. In Butterfly Lovers, one of the most famous ancient Chinese folktales, after the tragic death of two young lovers their spirits turned into beautiful, Red-Based Jezebel butterflies (Delias pastithoe) and rushed out of the grave to stay together forever.
THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY
The Wanderer or Monarch butterfly is also present in large numbers throughout the woodland which indicates that there is a lot of food available in the form of nectar.
We were surprised to find out that the wanderer is not native to Australia, it was first recorded in Sydney in 1871.
But it has now spread up and down the coastal forests and into the woodlands on the slopes which shows its adaptability and resilience.
When I complained to a friend that the Wanderer butterfly was not a native, she exclaimed scornfully, “How long do you have to live here before you are considered part of the ecosystem?”
In summer, Wanderers are found throughout their range along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to South Australia, and in south-west Western Australia. They have also been found in isolated parts of the Northern Territory.
They are strong fliers and can cover long distances during their adult life, about a month to six weeks in summer.
During this time they can move to unoccupied areas to find new plants on which to lay eggs. They take nectar from flowers to maintain their energy levels as they go.
In cooler areas, these non-breeding adults may gather together and hang from the branches of trees in large clusters of thousands of butterflies.
This is known as over-wintering. The same trees are used for this year after year. The clusters are at first made up mainly of males. The females arrive a week or so later.
During the warmth of the day the butterflies fly around the trees, but with the afternoon drop in temperature they settle to reform clusters.
I’m the webmaster here at Save Our Woodlands and as I was preparing this blog post for publishing I was beyond thrilled to learn that Australia has a population of Monarch butterflies. I currently live in Canada and in Canada Monarchs are an “at risk” species.
Why? Degradation of overwintering habitat in the USA and Mexico, along with climate change, the use of herbicides and insecticides and invasive plant species.
I’ve been lucky enough to spend a great deal of time in Southern and Central California, USA and witness huge numbers of Monarchs forming the winter clusters described above. See video below. If you ever get the chance to witness the same, it really is something else.
Please join me in doing whatever you can to help Save Our Woodlands protect Monarchs and other butterflies.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BUTTERFLIES…
THE GIANT WOOD MOTH
The adult Giant Wood Moth is rarely seen because it lives only a few days.
The larvae of wood moths are better known as witchetty grubs and bore into smooth-barked eucalypt trees.
Witchetty grubs were a favourite delicacy of Aboriginal people.
As they grow, the tunnels left behind in the bark increase in width.
They may spend up to one year within the tree before emerging as moths.
The newly emerged, small caterpillars lower themselves to the ground on silky threads where they are thought to feed on plant roots.
As adults they are unable to feed and only live for a few days. The heavy females lay about 20,000 tiny eggs before dying.
Save Our Woodlands is an environmentally conscious group of volunteers dedicated to preserving threatened birds, animals and ecosystems in the woodlands of New South Wales, Australia.
Only 15% of our woodlands remain, the rest has been cleared for agriculture.
Save Our Woodlands Inc. secures and protects woodlands in NSW and pays landholders, in perpetuity, to conserve, enhance and re-establish native woodlands on THEIR land, and to manage these woodlands, so they are maintained.
BUT we need YOUR help. Together we can bring about change. Please consider donating.
People tend to think that woodlands are “just bush,” consequently, over 85% of the native woodlands in New South Wales, Australia have been replaced by agriculture.
Donate $10 per month & help protect critical habitats. By doing so YOU will prevent further species from extinction.
Our work is only possible with your support.
