Badamia exclamationis (Narrow-winged Awl)

Other Common Name

Brown Awl, Migratory Skipper

Notes

I haven’t seen these butterflies all that often. I did see four or five on my second trip to Cairns, in April 2006. I saw two of them settle on leaves, and was able to get close enough to get photos. But the others were feeding from flowers and I had no chance at all – they only settled momentarily before flying away very rapidly.

The most I’ve seen was at Goomboora Park, Cairns in February 2020 – in a small clearing just off one of the paths a number of these Awls were buzzing about and settling on the undersides of leaves. They were difficult to photograph, as getting down into a position where the skipper could be seen was usually enough to disturb it.

A couple of days later I saw one near Glenbrook in the lower Blue Mountains – this remains the only one I’ve seen in the Sydney area. 

Sightings

Cairns – April 2006, September 2008, February 2020
Glenbrook, NSW – February 2020

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