Butterflies in the tree-tops

The Rhyll paperbark forest and wetland was literally fluttering in butterflies when we walked the boardwalk yesterday. Many hundreds fluttered about us on their way to sip nectar in the treetops, or to bask in pools of warm autumn sunshine.

While admiring the bark of a paperbark (Melaleuca) I captured an Australian Painted Lady (Vanessa kershawi) on my camera, as its spread out its wings horizontally, to maximise absorption of warmth.

A female of the same species sunned herself on a nearby leaf, with a curtain of New Zealand spinach behind -- butterflies have to be the fairies of the natural world.

The presence of butterflies and frogs in an environment suggests a healthy balanced ecosystem free of pesticides and pollution.

Farmland around beach-front estates: Phillip Island

Phillip Island's abundant rainfall, this past year, means that the whole island looks green and healthy.

The housing estate where we live, on the north-west corner of the island, backs onto a very well-managed beef cattle property. Stud Charolais cattle graze pastures dotted with large rolls of hay. Other properties on the island run Angus or dairy cattle, or sheep.

The native trees, shrubs and grasses hugging the coast have never looked better with fresh green shoots, flowers, seed heads and cones. Taking advantage of this burst of fertility several species of butterfly have hatched from their cocoons in huge numbers.

Never before have I seen so many butterflies on the island. Everywhere I look, they are fluttering about. Soon they will mate, lay their eggs and then the caterpillars will munch their way through the tender new growth on trees and shrubs -- and the cycle will begin all over again.

Fairies of the natural world: Mitchell outback Qld

In many ways, butterflies are the fairies of the natural world. Since childhood they've charmed my imagination and dreams; therefore, the discovery this morning of a butterfly (unfortunately dead) on our doorstep transported me away from the repetition of morning routines to the prospect of flying free.

Looking closely at the butterfly's wings you can see a mosaic of overlapping scales which take on an iridescent hue when bathed in sunshine. To identify the butterfly we looked up four books, the best being one published by Allen and Unwin in 2010 called: The Butterflies of Australia by Albert Orr and Roger Kitching.

Called an Orchard Swallowtail (Papilio aegeus), this large female butterfly lives in Australia between Cape York and Eastern Victoria. It's relatively common, lays large pearl-like eggs and frequents citrus orchards in particular. Silver-eyes eat the larvae that resemble bird droppings -- presumably to confuse birds.

In Mitchell we are privileged to see lots of butterflies; in fact we've identified over 12 species in the five years we've lived here. I believe this is due largely to lack of pollution and minimal use of pesticides.