Oreixenica latialis (Small Alpine Xenica)

Other Common Names

Alpine Silver Xenica

Notes

This species was the target of a trip to Kanangra Boyd National Park in March 2013. Whilst we saw a lot of butterflies, there were very few different species on the wing. By far the most abundant was O. lathoniella which made things difficult since it looks almost identical to latialis, especially as it was a warm and sunny day, so the butterflies were hardly settling at all. Every specimen I got a decent look at was lathoniella, until we were heading back and we stopped at a grassy verge on a bend in the road.

This spot was quite exposed and breezy, and there were a number of Xenicas clinging to flowers. Once again, almost all were lathoniella, but a couple were latialis. I wasn’t able to get much in the way of decent photos, as they were being blown around by the wind. Maybe one day…

Sightings

Kanangra Boyd National Park – March 2013

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