The caterpillars eventually stripped and
ring-barked the vine and had to be relocated for their survival. Approximately
50 caterpillars and pupae were adopted by a carer. My daughter was given a
replacement vine which, when I visited recently, had two very large
caterpillars living on it. There was also a female Birdwing Butterfly flying
around, no doubt, looking for a place to lay her eggs.
(Photos by Karen Weller)
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| Stripped vine |
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| Birdwing Caterpillar |
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| Caterpillars ready to pupate |
1 comment:
No doubt the birdwing larvae are those of the Cairns Birdwing Butterfly. To my knowledge and that is very limited, Australia has 3 birdwings - The Cairns Birding (Ornithoptera euphorion), The Cape York birdwing (Ornithoptera priamus) which we share with New Guinea and nearby islands, and the Richmond Birdwing (Ornithoptera richmondia) found in the coastal rainforests of South East Queensland and Northern New South Wales.
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