Peter Wilson - the Butterfly Man - is a retired soil scientist who has been collecting and breeding butterflies for many years. He began his talk to our members by telling us about the importance of insects and how they are a vital part of our ecosystem. Insects are the most common animal, with 2-3 times as many species as all other species of animals combined. They eat a wide variety of food such as plants, fungi, organic matter and animals. They can live in all habitats and are a food source for many animals (including humans) and some plants. Butterflies and moths are the second-largest group of insects. One of the most obvious differences between butterflies and moths is their resting wing position. Moths rest with their wings open, whereas butterflies tend to rest with their wings closed.

Butterflies live in all terrestrial habitats in Australia, including the Torres Strait. There are 5 families which are made up of 470 species. Swallowtails are the medium to large butterflies with the largest measuring 20cm and found in the Torres Strait or Papua New Guinea. Blues tend to be smaller, 1cm to medium-sized. They have a symbiotic relationship with ants. Ants look after them and they look after the ants by providing them with nectar.

Butterflies are important plant pollinators. Our native insects pollinated in Australia before the European bee was introduced. Butterflies are also food for many animals and indicators of the overall health of the environment.

So why don’t butterflies take over the world? Butterflies can fall victim to predators, parasites and disease. Their habitat can be destroyed, chemicals can kill them and they are affected by changes in the climate. It’s not only the butterflies that die because of these things; their larvae are also prone to parasites and predators – everything wants to eat them!

Question: How long do they stay as pupae?

Answer: One skipper butterfly has a pupae stage of 2 years and that is the longest but usually it is a month or two. Some pupae can even go dormant while they wait for rain.

Question: How long do adult butterflies live?

Answer: A couple of weeks, but some can live up to a year depending on the species. The smaller butterflies don’t live as long. It also depends on their environment.

Question: What is a butterfly-attracting plant?

Answer: A plant which the larvae (caterpillars) can eat or that will provide nectar for adult butterflies.

Question: How can I increase the butterflies in my garden?

Answer: You can encourage them to breed by providing a food plant for the larvae (caterpillars) to feed on (different varieties of butterfly larvae require different plants). You can also provide flowering plants for adult butterflies. You can obtain advice and plants from Gin Gin Landcare, or request a handbook that provides information about the butterfly’s food source.