Mesodina hayi (Narrow-winged Iris-skipper)

Notes

I had looked for this butterfly 3 times at Quaraiding, where it was first found. I didn’t find hayi there, though on the second occasion I did find a hell of a lot of spear grass. The butterfly is reportedly much more common near Kalbarri, and that’s where these photos were taken in November 2025.

They were on the wing in a sandy area with a few trees and little vegetation in the understory. There were plenty of clumps of this butterfly’s foodplant, Pattersonia drummondi, and for quite some time I was only able to catch glimpses of the occasional hayi scooting rapidly at ground level between the drummondi plants.

Persistence paid off and I eventually managed to get a couple of photos. Fortunately, as the day approached its maximum temperature the behaviour changed (improved from my point of view) and they began to settle on their foodplants and on fallen twigs. There were plenty of them around, and it was at this time that I took most of my photos, after which the hayi seemed to all need a siesta as it became difficult to find any of them.

 

Sightings

Kalbarri, November 2025

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