Papilio ambrax (Ambrax Swallowtail)
07/09/2012
Cairns
07/09/2012
Cairns
22/04/2011
Crystal Cascades
17/02/2009
From ova found Frenchman’s Creek
11/03/2017
Clohesy River Road, Kuranda, QLD
30/04/2021
Smithfield Conservation Park, Cairns
02/01/2009
Frenchman’s Creek, Cairns
02/01/2009
Frenchman’s Creek, Cairns
02/01/2009
Frenchman’s Creek, Cairns
17/02/2009
From ova found Frenchman’s Creek
17/02/2009
From ova found Frenchman’s Creek
22/04/2011
Crystal Cascades
22/04/2011
Crystal Cascades
22/04/2011
Crystal Cascades
22/04/2011
Crystal Cascades
22/04/2023
Cairns
22/04/2023
Cairns
Synonyms
Papilio orophanes, Menelaides ambrax, Princeps ambrax
Other Common Names
Ambrax Butterfly
Notes
The first time I photographed one of these butterflies was on 02/01/2009; this was a female flying at Frenchmans Creek, south of Cairns. She spent most of her time in the trees, looking for somewhere to lay eggs, but she settled briefly lower down and I was able to get a couple of shots.
Whilst we were there, Bob Miller found a couple of eggs on a leaf of a citrus shrub next to where we’d left the car. I brought them home and raised them on a lemon tree. Though they had been laid a few millimetres apart on the same leaf, they turned out to be different species – the other one was P. aegeus.
Since then I’ve occasionally photographed Ambrax Swallowtails around Cairns, though I’ve never seen more than the odd one or two around.
Sightings
Cairns – January 2009, April 2011, September 2012
Links
- The Butterflies of Australia, Their Identification, Biology and Distribution by Michael F. Braby
- Australian Faunal Directory
- Atlas of Living Australia
- Don Herbison-Evans’ Butterflies of Australia
- Bob’s Butterflies by Bob Miller
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility
- Butterflies and Other Invertebrates
- Wikipedia
- Australian Butterfly Conservation (Facebook)