The other day I noticed a butterfly that I hadn't seen before, as it fluttered around a clump of Gahnia sieberana or coarse sword grass. Checking identification it proved to be a female Mountain Spotted Skipper Oreisplanus perornatus, just a bit out of its mountain location. The larvae feed on the Gahnia and it was fortunate for me, as we only have a couple of clumps of the sword grass. However I didn't have my camera with me so missed the chance to record a first sighting of this species.
Today proved more lucky as I had the camera handy where I was working and caught sight of a butterfly near the sword grass which proved to be a Mountain Spotted Skipper.
Unfortunately it was quite windy and I had difficulty getting focused but did manage to get one photo that shows the correct identification.
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| A small clump of Gahnia sieberana |
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| The seed head |
What a beautiful little Skipper - they are so tiny you did well to get such a great photo. We have several Skipper species over here but two of them (Essex and Small) are quite difficult to tell apart!
ReplyDeleteIt is a very pretty little butterfly and I would have liked to get a couple more photos that showed the pattern and colour on the wings but it will have to be another time.
ReplyDeleteHowever I was thrilled to get the photo as it was a first recording on our property and adds to my species list.
Our butterflies are not so difficult to identify with a limited list as opposed to the problem with so many moths.