Hypochrysops ignitus Fiery Jewel

Fiery Jewel in the Blue Mountains

On 12 January 2019 I found my first ever NSW specimen of Hypochrysops ignitus (Fiery Jewel), after previously photographing this species in QLD, SA and WA.

It was a rather unusual sighting because I’m not aware of other records of this species from the Blue Mountains. The butterfly was not in good condition and there had been strong winds for a few days beforehand, so I suspect it might have been blown there from some other colony.

I was fortunate enough to get a shot of the ignitus perched right next to an Acrodipsas aurata (Golden Ant-blue), which was quite a nice Buy One Get One Free deal even though neither butterfly is captured sharply in the photo.

2 thoughts on “Fiery Jewel in the Blue Mountains”

  1. I was just poring over your gallery, Martin. The pics of Hypochrysops piceatus are the only ones I know of where it is away from its foodplant.

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