Our New Zealand butterflies go into diapause during winter, basically meaning they don't mate. Today's sighting of a blue was quite historic for me. The butterfly had slightly ripped wings, but was otherwise fine. Hopefully it will get through until Summer when it can mate.
What a delightful surprise to see a LONG TAILED BLUE (Lampides boeticus) enjoying the winter sunshine and flowers, in a little out-of-the-way bay near Russell (Far North of New Zealand) today. It's mid-winter here, so seeing a blue butterfly flying about at this time of year was a surprise. Having said this, I also recall seeing a Monarch Butterfly fly through. We see Monarchs all the time during winter, but I've never seen a blue butterfly. Our New Zealand butterflies go into diapause during winter, basically meaning they don't mate. Today's sighting of a blue was quite historic for me. The butterfly had slightly ripped wings, but was otherwise fine. Hopefully it will get through until Summer when it can mate. I enjoyed a most unexpected surprise yesterday, when I saw several butterflies flying about enjoying the sun.
That's not unusual, you might think, however I live in New Zealand where, right now, it's mid-Winter and quite cold. There were three butterflies, one white and two blues. All three were in beautiful condition so must have emerged from their chrysalis's at the start of our Winter. It's not usual to see Monarch butterflies flying about at this time of year, as they cluster about in tall trees until Summer, however I don't think I've ever seen a white butterfly or a blue butterfly in Winter before. Nevertheless, there they were. All in pristine condition. What a joy it was to see them and, as you can see, I took plenty of pictures despite not having my correct 'butterfly' lens with me. Look here 🔽 (click on each pic to see it larger) Late yesterday afternoon we went for a walk around our area. For years there has been a short stretch of roadside grass, down a bank, where Common Blues (Zizina otis labradus) and Long-tail Blues (Lampides boeticus) could be readily seen. Two years ago an over-zealous resident began cutting the roadside grass and then kept it short. All the blue butterflies disappeared. Perhaps the resident has sold up and gone, because tonight we noticed the grass had grown longer and, yes, there were blue butterflies. Not many, but perhaps they will increase in time. The one Long-tailed Blue I saw, gave me the slip, but I get a few shots of several Common Blues. Yay 🦋 We are already into our New Zealand Summer of 2019-20 and, until yesterday, I had barely seen any butterflies. Look how quickly that has changed for me because, all of a sudden, here they are. While out walking I came across a small, ratty area, overgrown with a wild rambling pink rose, Crocosmia (Crocosmia x crocosmiiflora a member of the Iris Family), Fennel, Birdsfoot Trefoil (habitat for blue butterflies), buttercup plants, Queen Anne's Lace and more. There they were - Coastal Coppers, Long-tailed Blues and a few White Butterflies. Not many, mind you, but enough to get me very excited and take a few decent photos. Enjoy. I have barely seen any blue butterflies, in our area this summer. That's Long-Tailed Blues (Lampides boeticus) and Common Blues (Zizina otis labradus - aka Zizina labradus labradus). In the past there have been many, but not this year. It is my belief that the lack of blue butterflies is due to over-zealous people trimming along the sides of roads where longer long grass and, more importantly, the tiny Birdsfoot Trefoil plant grows. BIrdsfoot Trefoil is the host plant for Blue butterflies so, with no plants to feed upon nor lay their eggs on, the butterflies are just not there. Today, however, I saw three blue butterflies (yes, a whole three) in areas where, up until one or two years ago, there used to be dozens. At this rate there might soon be none whatsoever. Yes, we still have plenty of Blues, in our neck of the woods. While out walking today we were most pleased to see a few Long-tailed Blues (Lampides boeticus) and Common Blues (Zizina otis labradus) flying about in Opua, where we live. They really are just the sweetest things to observe. They have slightly moved location, compared to other years that we have seen them, which I believe is due to a well-meaning local cutting back their habitat. Nevertheless, they are surviving, somewhat 'upstream' from where we were seeing them last Summer. All is well. 🦋 |
AUTHOR
Julie Vause
Opua, New Zealand. Keen butterfly photographer and raises Monarch Butterflies for release. " I'm crazy about butterflies and enjoy sharing the beauty and wonder of their transformations." VIDEO
Monarch Caterpillar emerging from egg
Click on video to enlarge
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