Trapezites iacchoides (Silver-studded Ochre)

Other Common Names

Iacchoides Skipper

Notes

In my opinion this is one of those “special” species of butterfly. When I see it I can’t resist taking photos, even though I already have plenty, as there is just something about iacchoides that I love.  It’s a very attractive skipper, though the ones found around Sydney are relatively drab compared to those found in some other areas – I saw one female at Catherral Rock National Park in November 2008 and she was much larger and more colourful than any iacchoides I’ve seen closer to home. Unfortunately she was intent on buzzing about some flowers to get a feed, and didn’t give me any decent photo opportunities, so I only have one shot of her and it’s not great.

I regularly see them in the Spring at Mount Alexandria in Mittagong, where there can be a decent number of them on the wing. I was once pleasantly surprised to see several of them in the Cox Street Bushland at Glenbrook in the lower Blue Mountains, but sadly this has not been repeated and a number of springtime trips to the site have been unrewarded.

Sightings

Ingleburn Reserve – October 2004
Lawson – December 2005, December 2008
Cathedral Rock National Park – November 2008
Mittagong – November 2009, October 2012, October 2014, October 2020, October 2023
Blackheath – November 2012
Cox Street bushland, Glenbrook – October 2016
Duffys Forest – September 2019

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