Bindahara phocides (Sword-tailed Flash)

Other Common Names

Australian Plane

Notes

My first encounter with this butterfly was close to the roadside at Lace Placid in Cairns. He flew around his foodplant, then settled close to it. I was very lucky, because the undergrowth was all intertwined, and I couldn’t approach close enough for a photo without disturbing the leaf he was settled on.
He didn’t seem to care much, however, and I was able to get some decent shots of him, though it was very dark where he was sitting. The only downside was the fact that he just sat in the one spot, so all the photos I took are essentially the same.

The only other time I’ve seen a Bindahara – so far – was at the side of the Blue Arrow walking track in the Mount Whitfield Conservation Park, not far from where it meets the Red Arrow track. It was another male, a rather more worn specimen this time, who seemed oblivious to my presence as he drank nectar from some flowers. Unfortunately he was disturbed by some passing tourists, who were intrigued by me taking photos and so felt the need to walk in between me and my subject so as to have a stickybeak. Needless to say they disturbed the butterfly and he flew off.

Sightings

Cairns – December 2008, September 2012
Kuranda – June 2022

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