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Project Noah Nature School
Pseudalmenus chlorinda zephyrus
On a broad leafed wattle these small, black caterpillars were apparently be lovingly looked after by groups of grey and black ants. The caterpillars were about 15mm long. I could not see what the ants were getting from the caterpillar but they seemed to be regularly checking the rear end.
In a local nature reserve adjoining a large national park both dominated by various eucalyptus species.
"Occurring mainly in the Dandenong Ranges where it breeds on wattles (Acacia sp.). An early spring species whose larvae feed on Blackwood (A. melanoxylon) and Silver Wattle (A. dealbata). The larvae are attended by the strong smelling ant, Anonychomyrma biconvexa. Pupation usually occurs under the bark of nearby eucalypts. " - Museum Victoria
Conservation status HIGHLY VULNERABLE
The adult butterfly was spotted last year here http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/122...
family: LYCAENIDAE
subfamily: THECLINAE
tribe: Zesiusini
http://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:b...
Spotted on Nov 2, 2014
Submitted on Nov 3, 2014
9 Comments
And then the catty walks from a wattle to a eucalypt to pupate! How did they develop that idea. And what chem happens in the adult to find ants, wattles and gums all together fit for offspring - blows the mind :-)
The relationships between butterflies and ants are amazing, I often wonder how such things evolve?
Thanks L. A nice surprise. Added more pics.
Great spotting and interesting information, Mark. Exciting to know that it's a Dandenong Ranges species.
Thanks gents. I have gone with Nuwan's suggestion after expanding the images at Museum Victoria. Quite a special find as it turns out with dependencies on the ants, the wattles and the eucalypts ... and vulnerable!
Thanks Martin. I will move the pin.
My first guess would be the sometimes common imperial hairstreak
Jalmenys evagoras. They are brown and have tubercules.
If they are P clorinda, (and it seems a very good guess) I would be interested in having a closer look, as I've not seen them before.
Thanks for that Nuwan. I'll check it thoroughly later.
Pseudalmenus chlorinda?
http://lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au...