A colourful new Australian reaches Talaroo: The Tawny Coster butterfly, Acraea terpsicore

Donald Franklin, Scott C. Morrison, Gary W. Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

Abstract

Since being first found in Australia near Darwin in 2012, the Tawny Coster butterfly (Acraea terpsicore; Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) has spread rapidly. We report its presence at Talaroo Station between Mt Surprise and Georgetown in far north Queensland, the species being detected at six of 13 sites that were surveyed for butterflies in February 2017. More than ten individuals were present at three sites, and breeding was confirmed at one of these. Talaroo falls a little outside the predicted preference envelope for the species in being in uplands well away from the coast, and in that the vegetation is little-disturbed, prompting the notion that the Tawny Coster may be even more versatile in its occurrence than previously suggested.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)10-13
Number of pages4
JournalNorth Queensland Naturalist
Volume47
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2017

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