Taractrocera ilia (Rock Grass-dart)
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
13/04/2024
Kakadu, NT
Other Common Names
Northern Grass-dart
Notes
Richard Weir took me out to Kakadu to look for this beautiful little dart, which lives on sandstone pavement areas. Because the rock gets very hot during the middle of the day – trust me, I walked across it – these butterflies take shelter beneath overhanging sections, which is where I was able to take my photos. They were still a bit frisky, so weren’t the easiest butterflies to approach, but once properly settled a couple of them allowed me to get one or two shots..
Sightings
Kakadu National Park, NT – April 2024
Links
- The Complete Field Guide to Australian Butterflies (2nd edition) by Michael F. Braby
- Atlas of Living Australia
- Don Herbison-Evans’ Australian Butterflies website
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility
- iNaturalist
- Taxonomic revision of the Taractrocera ilia (Waterhouse) complex (Lepidoptera : Hesperiidae) from north-western Australia and mainland New Guinea based on morphological and molecular data (2015)