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Lately, butterflies have been on my mind. This is the time of year when they are most visible, going about their business of fluttering, pollinating and procreating. It has been a mixed start to summer in the Blue Mountains, with some warmer than normal days interspersed with pockets of rain, then a return to milder conditions. Here are a handful of butterflies that I’ve seen recently.

The most frequently spotted butterflies in my garden are the Common Brown (Heteronympha metope), and they range from eastern central Queensland through to South Australia. They can also be found in Western Australia and Tasmania, and their habitat includes urban areas, forests, and woodlands. Females are larger than the males, and have yellow instead of brown spots towards the tip of the forewing. The butterfly shown above as seen at a nature reserve at Hartley.

Another regular visitor is the Common Crow (Euploea core). During winter, they cluster together in large groups of up to two thousand butterflies, remaining dormant until the warmer weather returns. This butterfly has a strong scent, which makes it inedible for some predators. It contains toxins which can make some birds vomit after eating a single butterfly, though this doesn’t deter all predators. Butterflies are also eaten by other insects, including flies, spiders, dragonflies, and wasps. These butterflies range from the top of Western Australia and the Northern Territory all the way down the east coast to Sydney. The butterfly above was seen at a park in Gladesville.

The ability of even vibrant butterflies to be almost hidden against plants and foliage when they are momentarily still is quite remarkable. One of the loveliest butterflies I’ve spotted at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden at Mount Tomah was the Macleay’s Swallowtail (Graphium macleayanum). Their wings sometimes vibrate rapidly when feeding on flowers. These butterflies are found along the eastern coast of Australia, and Tasmania, preferring the wetter coastal and mountain regions. They can be spotted in urban areas in Sydney from August to April, and caterpillars have adapted to eat introduced plants including Camphor Laurel.

Although not popular with farmers due to their preference for cultivated citrus trees, the Orchard Swallowtail (Papilio aegeus) is lovely to spot in the garden. This pair were getting friendly in the garden on a warm summer’s day. Apparently, male butterflies can be very territorial, and will chase anything black and white that enters their territory, including magpies. These butterflies have quite a slow and floppy flight compared to other varieties.

From a distance, some butterflies appear to be much of a muchness, especially when many of them are brown. The softly coloured Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi) has a delicate pattern of orange and brown on the upper wings, and there are tiny blue eyespots on the hind wings. In spring, they migrate en masse from inland regions to the coast.

These are some brightly coloured visitors to the mountains in the warmer weather, and it is lovely to take a moment to watch them. Have you had a butterfly moment lately?

Photo: Caper white butterfly (Belenois java) spotted in my garden