Papilio demoleus (Chequered Swallowtail)

Other Common Names

Lime Swallowtail

Notes

I finally saw this species in the wild around Brisbane in November 2008; prior to that I’d only seen it at the Sydney Wildlife World. In the wild, it looks considerably paler than I had expected. It zips around a lot, but fortunately at Gold Creek Dam they were taking the chance to feed from flowers when the sun finally came out on a mainly cloudy day.

The only other occasion when I’ve managed to photograph this butterfly was at Ingleburn at the end of August 2009. One very fresh specimen appeared to have established a territory and, it being winter, settled down for the night around 3:30pm making it very easy for me to get some photos.

Sightings

Gold Creek Dam, Brisbane – November 2008
White Rock, QLD – November 2008
Ingleburn – August 2009
I’ve seen them on a number of other occasions; generally just one individual passing through and showing no sign of stopping.

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