Other Common Names
Cornelian

I spotted this in the Royal Botanical Gardens. First I saw a male sitting basking on a low plant, with his wings wide open. Unfortunately I missed the shot, which was a real shame because it was such a bright orange colour. I saw it re-settle on some small yellow flowers, and I managed to get one shot before it flew off. I waited around for some time, but it didn't come back.

Almost 2 years later I saw a female, again in the Royal Botanical Gardens. She was feeding from flowers, and after a couple of failed attempts I was able to get some photos. When disturbed she flew away extremely quickly, so that her flight was hard to follow. Although I didn't see this butterfly with its wings open, I'm pretty sure it was a female. Firstly, I did see it flying, and there was no sign of the orange colour of the male's upperside. And secondly, the undersides look mainly grey, whereas the male's looked more of a brown colour.

The following month I saw another specimen, feeding from a tall succulent. This one was definitely a male - I saw him flying around and the orange colour of this uppersides was very easy to see, even though he flew rapidly. The underside of the male is somewhat browner than that of the female, which is a silvery-grey colour.

Sightings
Rotal Botanical Gardens, Sydney - early May 2004; April 2006, May 2006, June 2008.
The Domain, Sydney - April 2018
Spring Mountain, QLD - November 2008
Mount Sugarloaf - March 2012, April 2013