Butterfly Beauty

Long-tailed Pea-blue Lampides boeticus, Lake Wyaralong, 22-2-17
(Photo: Aub Podlich)

Butterflies are everywhere in this hot and humid weather. They are wonderful to see. The Fassifern Field Naturalist Club members have recorded at least 58 species of skippers and butterflies in our survey area. 

Some of them are very tiny like this lovely Long-tailed Pea-blue found by one of our members, Aub Podlich, on a recent walk.

This pretty little butterfly is found in all the mainland states, Lord Howe Island and occasionally in northern Tasmania. Also native to Europe, Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. They are known to be migratory in Europe. However, even in our own Scenic Rim a massive migration of them was witnessed at Mt Tamborine in 1974. "During August and September vast numbers of butterflies flew south for two weeks ..." . 

The males are a delicate lilac-blue on the upper wings while the females are brown with blue near the body. See this link or this. 

The larva, or caterpillars, feed on legumes such as Sturt's Desert Pea Swainsona formosa, Darling Pea Swainsona galegifolia and garden plants such as peas, green beans and sweet peas.

Bibliography:
"Butterflies of Australia" I.F.B. Common and D.F. Waterhouse, revised edition 1981.
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampides_boeticus
Tree of Life - http://ftp.funet.fi/index/Tree_of_life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/ papilionoidea/lycaenidae/polyommatinae/lampides/boeticus-3u.jpg
South Australian Butterflies - http://users.sa.chariot.net.au/~rbg/boeticus_ds.htm
APNI - Australian Plant Name Index https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apniFormat/ display/93060