The Elusive Macleay’s Swallowtail

It all started some time ago with a hike over Lake Mountain. Resting near the summit with the sun shining and a swag of mint-bush flowering around me a butterfly landed on a rock and sat quite still with its wings outstretched so I was able to study it for a while. It was an interesting looking creature – green and black and reasonably large with a distinctive swallowtail shape to its wings. I regretted not having my camera because I could have taken quite a nice photo. The butterfly sat for some time - I would have been able to boil the billy and make a cuppa while contemplating the best angle before setting up the tripod and taking the pic. Oh well, maybe next time.

Next time ended up being not too long after and this time I had my camera with me. I sat near the top, the mint-bush was still flowering and the butterfly was there. But would it sit still? No! In the end I had a photo of mint-bush with a green-black blur hovering over it.

Notice the blurry butterfly? Just to the right of the centre.

My compensating shot was a Common Grass-blue, which posed nicely for me.

I had learnt a bit about the creature between the two trips. Macleay’s Swallowtail, or Graphium macleayanus, lives all along the Great Dividing Range, from Victoria, where it likes alpine areas, to Queensland, where it lives in the slightly different coastal rainforest  ecosystem. 

I looked for it whenever I was hiking in the alps. I hiked up Mt Cobbler. Happily, the butterfly was there swooping around the top of the mountain. Annoyingly it wasn’t landing and the best I could do was a tracking shot as one flew by.

The flying green dot in the middle

I did however manage a shot of a Yellow Admiral sitting on a daisy on the way back to camp.

Feathertop – and there it was again. And again all I could manage was a blurry photo as one swooped past. 

To compensate, a Solanders Brown posed for me the next day as we hiked down Bungalow Spur.

I am still trying to get a picture of this beast and still haven’t had any luck. I have managed a few other species though …

Alpine Xenica, Mount Cobbler

.

Orange Ochre, Mount Buffalo.

While in my garden I found a Caper White …

… and on the lavender, a blue-banded bee!

The quest continues…