Whitsunday butterflies

We see a lot of native wildlife, day and night, living in the Whitsunday hinterland; a 20 minute drive from the resort seaside town of Airlie Beach. 

Butterflies are the prettiest, but they are short lived. The beautiful Cairns Birdwing (Ornithoptera euphorion) only lives for four or five weeks. It is the largest butterfly in Australia with a wingspan of up to 18 centimetres. The male is smaller in size than the female, with rich upper wing markings of jade, gold and black. I am yet to capture a photo of the more attractive iridescent male; however, the larger black and white female is just as striking with her distinctive yellow markings on the hind wings. Plus the fact she is the size of a small bird.

Male Cairns Birdwing

Female Cairns Birdwing on mini torch ginger

Due to the short life span, the female Cairns Birdwing butterfly mates as soon as she emerges from the pupa, laying her eggs on the native large leafed vine Dutchman's Pipe (Aristolochia tagala). To find the Dutchman's Pipe, she flies from leaf to leaf and tastes each one. Unfortunately, she cannot differentiate between the native vine and the poisonous exotic species from South America, which then becomes a deadly mistake. If she does get to lay her eggs, the caterpillar that develops can grow up to 9 centimetres and is dark with bright orange spines.

Cairns Birdwing caterpillar

As they migrate up and down the east coast, the striking and longer living Blue Tiger (Tirumala hamata) butterflies can be found in their thousands in and around Airlie Beach, the surrounding forest and Whitsunday islands. After a big rainfall they are also known to come out in their masses, shaking them out of aestivtion (like a suspended animation), the blue and black wings come to life. They will even fly out to the boat as you sail around the Whitsunday islands and as far out as the Great Barrier Reef. 

Blue Tiger butterfly

The most well known butterfly; the one most associated with tropical Queensland, is the electric blue Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses). It's difficult to photograph in all it's glory because when it is perched, to help blend in with its surroundings, the intense blue of the upside of its wings is hidden by the plainer brown underside. Once in flight you are rewarded with sudden flashes of brilliant blue as it flits about the garden.  

Ulysses butterfly on Ixora coccinea

There are many more varieties of butterfly in the Whitsundays - these above are the most recognisable.