7/6/2023 0 Comments Ulysses butterflyLinda suggests that if everybody in North Queensland planted an Aristolochia tagala it could help secure the birdwing population and everyone would then get to enjoy these beautiful butterflies. So gardeners should be planting natives wherever they can. It's also important to remember that the exotic Aristolochias, grown by gardeners, are poisonous to the birdwing butterflies. But beware, the Asystasia can become weedy in some areas, so be careful if you grow it. with its pretty little mauve to white flower, and the butterflies also love it for the nectar. Some of the plants include the Asystasia sp. With so many voracious caterpillars, Linda has turned over much of her garden to food production. Butterflies age through their wings - so the Ulysses only lives for a couple of weeks," says Linda. She's always flapping her wings and that means she's shortening her lifespan. Unfortunately birds love that metallic blue colour and that makes the Ulysses a nervous butterfly. On the underside of the wing the Ulysses is well camouflaged but she opens up her wings to reveal a metallic blue colour, which is absolutely stunning. "The Ulysses butterfly is beautiful but, like many good things, it doesn't last. The lazy lurcher just loves to sunbathe all day and because of that, it gets to live for about nine months - that's a long time for a butterfly - because it's not wearing its wings out. Other butterflies in Linda's collection include the cruiser, red lacewings and lazy lurchers. It’s a very beautiful butterfly with blue and black wings. The Ulysses butterfly is found in Australia and New Zealand. There are only about 200 of them left in the wild. In fact, it’s one of the most endangered butterflies in the world. The birdwing is the largest butterfly in Australia, and looks magnificent with its red thorax and yellow abdomen, which lets predators know that she's poisonous, so they stay away. Yes, the Ulysses butterfly is quite rare. It's an easy plant to grow in a tropical climate, but it's not a fast grower," says Linda. That's the only leaf that her caterpillars will eat. And the female Cairns birdwing will only lay her eggs on a vine called Aristolochia tagala. The female feeds on bottlebrushes, but only lays eggs on the Melicope elleryana. "For example, the Ulysses butterfly is specific about its hosts. All butterflies are host-specific, and that means they only lay their eggs on a particular food plant, and that's the plant the caterpillars eat. "The adult butterfly will feed on any nectar filled flower but they're very host-specific. The butterflies I breed are wet tropics butterflies and that means I can easily grow the food in the garden. "I'm trying to get as many colours as I can. She says the butterflies are spectacular. Linda has picked a great spot to breed butterflies, Cairns, where the tropical climate supports many magnificent species. The butterflies are absolutely beautiful and are so much fun to work with." "But I was looking for something else, to combine gardening and butterflies. Linda says that she has always loved gardening. This means the success of both plants and butterflies are linked and are interdependent - so if one disappears the other can too. Caterpillars like those of the Cairns birdwing can have highly specific needs, sometimes feeding on a single plant species. Linda breeds caterpillars and with a little luck, and good management, each caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly.īutterflies perform an important environmental service by pollinating plants, enabling them to set seed and reproduce. This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.Linda Genever is a horticulturalist who spends her days encouraging what some gardeners might think is the enemy. This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0. Online Zoological Collections of Australian Museums (OZCAM).Mountain blue butterfly Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status Least concern Conservation significant No Endemicity Native Pest status Nil Other resources WildNet taxon ID 2018 Alternate name(s) Ulysses swallowtail Descriptions of two new butterflies from Queensland. Animalia (animals) → Insecta (insects) → Papilionidae (swallowtails) → Papilio ulysses joesa (Ulysses butterfly) Sighting data Download KML | CSV | GeoJson Species details Kingdom Animalia (animals) Class Insecta (insects) Family Papilionidae (swallowtails) Scientific name Papilio ulysses joesa Butler, 1869 Common name Ulysses butterfly Type reference Butler, A.G.
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