Common Australian Crow (aka Oleander Butterfly)

Description:

Black and white butterflies with small white spots on the edges of the wings, and larger spots further in. On the hind wings, these large spots form a marginal row, and some spots are in pairs. On the forewings, the large spots vary in size, and form a less well defined row. In males, the inner margin of the forewing is bowed; in the female it is straight. The adults only have four 'walking' legs (see notes). Wing span is around 7 cms. This species of butterfly is famous for its pupa which is a shiny metallic silvery gold. I've never seen the pupa, but here's the caterpillar - http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/114...

Habitat:

Common in the Brisbane area, as it is throughout the rest of Australia. This one was found resting on the tyre of my car.

Notes:

I read that these butterflies only have four legs, and that's all I can see in the photos. That's unusual for an insect, isn't it? However, it's not exactly true. They only have four 'walking' legs. These are the 'brush-footed butterflies' called Nymphalidae. The first pair of legs are modified as brushes and held forwards forming the pointy nose. They are used to clean its face, antennae and proboscis. Here's a good link - http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/lab-... I was delighted to see this butterfly resting long enough for me to take a couple of photos. They're usually flitting around and resting far too briefly for photos.