Hypochrysops halyaetus (Western Jewel)

Other Common Name

Turquoise Jewel

Notes

This is a really gorgeous little butterfly. On my first visit to WA in 2008 there were large numbers of them at Koondoola, mainly basking in the sun along a sandy track. Most of them were extremely easy to approach, though it’s possible that this was because the weather was rather cool. 
Whilst it’s a beautiful little thing, it does tend to be clumsy – on more than one occasion I saw then simply fall off their perches and flutter around on the ground beneath. Quite bizarre.

I’ve been back to WA for 3 butterflying trips since 2008 and none of those times did I see halyaetus is anything like such numbers, so perhaps my first visit happened to coincide with a boom season for these exquisite butterflies. The closest to it was in 2025, when I saw a lot of halyaetus at Dongara and Molah Hill, though I didn’t see any at all at Koondoola.

Sightings

Koondoola, WA – October 2008, October 2016, October 2022
Warwick, WA – October 2008
Leeman, WA – November 2016, November 2017, October 2025
Dongara, WA – November 2016, November 2017, October 2025
The Pinnacles, WA – November 2017
Molah Hill, WA – November 2025

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