Australia has 18 species of Hypochrysops butterflies, commonly known as Jewels, all of which rank somewhere between Very Pretty and Holy Shit That’s Stunning! on the attractiveness scale. The Moonlight Jewel (Hypochrysops delicia) is at the latter end of that scale, and whilst not an easy species to photograph it is most definitely worth expending some …
The Silky Hairstreak (Pseudalmenus chlorinda) is only a small butterfly, with a wingspan under 3cm, but its dark-chocolate wings with bright orange bands, complete with silvery-grey underside, make it one of Australia’s most gorgeous species. However, after recent taxonomic research it is now two of Australia’s most gorgeous species… Until recently, P. chlorinda had 6 …
The wonderful Montane Iris-skipper (Mesodina aeluropis) is the largest and most colourful of the 5 Mesodina skipper species, all of which are endemic to Australia. It’s a butterfly you need to make some effort to find as it’s only found in a few small subalpine areas of the Great Dividing Range. The map on the …
