Brisbane, Australia

 

During a leisurely trip to visit Aunty Lily in Brisbane, I had the chance to observe some fascinating butterflies native to Australia.

We arrived Brisbane to a gloomy wet weather, but I could not wait to explore Aunty Lily's garden when arrived in the early hours of the day to look for any butterflies that might be fluttering in the garden.

I was not disappointed when I saw three of the Zebra Blues fluttering around the flowering bushes and this was the first butterfly I had encountered in Australia.

Another interesting butterfly that I had encountered in the garden was this endemic Splendid Ochre.

 

 

Common Evening Brown

I was excited to want to catch a glimpse of the Richmond Birdwing, an endemic in Australia, so I headed to Mount Tamborine Skywalk, where they're known to reside. Sadly, I didn't spot any because I arrived a bit late – the season for these magnificent creatures ended in early March.

However, I managed to see a number of other new butterflies such as the Jezebel Nymph and Narrow Banded Awl

 

Lovely morning walk with Aunty Lily and Zikki, the doggy at Toohey Forest Park, where I found many of the Orange Ringlet fluttering around the forest.

Here, I was chasing this Common Evening Brown
 

Common Evening Brown

Disappointed by my missed opportunity at Mount Tamborine, I made my way to the Bribie Island Butterfly House to see the Cairns Birdwing as I couldn't bear to leave Australia without seeing at least one of these beautiful butterflies  even if it meant observing them in a captive environment.

My disappointment quickly turned to elation as I not only got to witness both the male and female Cairns Birdwings but also stumbled upon a mating pair. It was a truly magical experience.

 

 

 My final destination opportunity to see more butterflies was at the Botanical Garden at Mount Coot.

 

 Common Australian Crow

Purple Caerulean

 

Zebra Blue

 

Hyaline Swift

Speckled Line Blue