Jalmenus icilius (Amethyst Hairstreak)
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
27/02/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
05/04/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
05/04/2010
Mount Ainslie, ACT
Other Common Name
Icilius Blue
Notes
I have not had any luck finding this species around Sydney, which is perhaps not surprising as it doesn’t seem to be found to the east of the Dividing Range. I’d hoped to find it around Perth, but whilst I did find J. inous I didn’t see this species.
I finally found it on Mount Ainslie overlooking Canberra. In total I saw six specimens; the first two were damaged but the other four were all in mint condition. All of them were found on the same small wattle, apart from one that had been nectaring amongst some flowers nearby. There were plenty of other wattles around, but I didn’t see the butterflies go near them. Whilst on that particular wattle, if disturbed, they just flew for a few seconds and landed again on the same shrub.
Sightings
Mount Ainslie, ACT – February 2010, April 2010