Butterflies (And Our First Cyclone Experience)

I perhaps should have mentioned in the previous chapter (which I wrote yesterday) that, at time of writing, Far North Queensland is being subjected to the severe weather caused by Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which has just a couple of days ago been downgraded to an ex-Tropical Cyclone. The low pressure system still remains, and is now bringing torrential rain to the area, resulting in extreme flooding. Roads are closed, businesses are shut, and it's all a bit hectic. The flood cameras speak for themselves, and it is very serious. It is normal in this part of Australia to see high rainfall, however this event is catastrophic and breaking records.

I have the radio on in the background to stay informed. It is worth mentioning that this is Huguette and I's very first cyclone experience; earlier this week, we stayed at the Pullman International Hotel (which is where Huguette works) and whilst the cyclone itself was somewhat weaker than predicted, it is all this rain that the system is now dragging in that is doing the worst damage.

But there is a silver lining for Huguette and I; our flat is on the second floor of our building, and is not in any real risk of getting water damage as far as I know. It's also Sunday today, so I don't have to work. Thankfully, we still have power as well. This means I have time to write another entry, this time with a focus back on the butterflies. On a sidenote, I do wonder what happens to all the butterflies during week-long torrential rains like this. Do all the adults die? What about the caterpillars? Eggs? How do populations rebuild? It will be interesting to see what I find after this all blows over, although Huguette and I are flying down to Melbourne for Christmas this Saturday coming (hopefully), so I may not have time to do any butterflying before we head down.





Our unit looks over Les Davies Park in Cairns North, pictured here underwater! This a frame extracted from a video Huguette filmed from the ground floor. 17th December 2023

Let us now take a leap far to the south, and back in time. In September 2022, I travelled to Melbourne to visit my Dad and siblings (only Marion and Pierre in this instance) to celebrate my birthday with them (21st September, than you for asking!). During this time, my Dad and I took a short trip inland into northwest Victoria. We had a fabulous time visiting Wyperfeld National Park, where we were hoping to find a Ground Cuckooshrike (Coracina maxima) or two, as it has historically been a good area for them. This would have been a lifer for me, but unfortunately we had no such luck with them. However, I was very pleased to observe and photograph several new butterfly species in this special place.

I was particularly happy to come across a Caper White (Belenois java), my first time observing this species. I snapped a photo of it when it landed on the track ahead of me along the Discovery Walk, which departs from Wonga Campground. This was a wonderful opportunity to witness this species' intricate underwing patterns and beautiful colours. Back at Wonga Campground, I found a Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) fluttering close to the ground and feeding from flower to flower. Earlier in the day, I had also photographed a Meadow Argus (Junonia villida) just off one of the park's 4WD tracks; its striking upperwing patterns are a delight to behold. These observations all took place on 18th September 2022.

Caper White (Belenois java), 18 September 2022 | Wyperfeld National Park

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae) 18 September 2022 | Wyperfeld National Park

Meadow Argus (Junonia villida) 18 September 2022 | Wyperfeld National Park

It was around this time that my passion for butterflies really cemented itself into my life; I was now constantly on the lookout for these magnificent yet overlooked creatures. My focus slowly shifted from birds to butterflies, although with this change in focus also came a deeper appreciation for all aspects of the natural world. A week or two after this particular trip to Victoria, I ramped my butterfly expedition efforts in a big way in and around Cairns.

The first butterfly I ever photographed in the Cairns region was the Bordered Rustic (Cupha prosope), at Behana Gorge (south of Cairns). This was on 2nd July 2022, just a couple of months after we arrived to this wonderful area (wonderful when there aren't life-threatening floods around to disrupt the peace, that is). The Bordered Rustic is a great species; it is highly visible, has a lovely flight pattern (switching between gliding and flapping) and tends to land on exposed leaves close to the observer, allowing relatively close approach and offering easy photo opportunities.

Bordered Rustic (Cupha prosope) 2 July 2022 | Behana Gorge

The second half of 2022 proved to be a productive time for me, and my butterfly species list started growing quickly. During a visit to Goomboora Park (a regular haunt of mine) on 30th September 2022, I observed a White-banded Plane (Phaedyma shepherdi), which at first was flying about quite frantically, but then perched on a leaf quite high up, with its wings outspread. I must have been fairly lucky, as I haven't seen this species very frequently at all since then. In fact, I can only think of one other time I was able to photograph one, and that was at Forty Mile Scrub National Park in February 2023 (more on that later).

Goomboora Park is a phenomenal spot to see lots of different species, as we shall continue to see throughout this book. Another productive day for butterflies can be had anywhere along Lake Morris Road, which leads from the Cairns lowlands up to the Copperlode Dam (itself a good spot). It was along this road I took my first photo of the amazing Cruiser (Vindula arsinoe), a sight for sore eyes as it races around the rainforest in flashes of orange. The much smaller but no less elegant Hamadryad (Tellervo zoilus) is a common species that I see quite regularly, but again the first time I photographed one was along Lake Morris Road. The photo itself isn't fantastic, but I choose to include it here as my first observation of this species. During this session, I also captured some good photos of the Hamadryad's upperwing pattern, but they are not of a high enough quality to include here.

This was only the very beginning of my butterfly journey, and many more species were (and are!) still to come.

White-banded Plane (Phaedyma shepherdi) 30 September 2022 | Goomboora Park

Cruiser (Vindula arsinoe) 1 October 2022 | Lake Morris Road

Hamadryad (Tellervo zoilus) 1 October 2022 | Lake Morris Road

G Thomas Doerig
17 December 2023
Cairns

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