Скачать или смотреть Common Brown Butterflies feeding on grasstree flowers in woodland Victoria Australia 3 December 2023

These Common Brown Butterflies [Heteronympha merope merope] were filmed while flying around and feeding on grass trees flowers [Xanthorrhoea minor] in a regrowth woodland area after a fire/burnoff.

The Common Brown Butterfly is endemic to South Eastern Australia. Different subspecies are found in Western Australia and Tasmania.

This Common Brown Butterfly species male and female can be distinguished by their slightly different wing colours [browns, beiges and orange tones] and markings. Females have paler upper wings, with darker markings on the outer forewings. Males have more uniformly patterned wings with a raised vein in the mid forewing. Both sexes have a small eye-spot on each wing and pale subtly marked underwings providing camouflage when their wings are closed. Male Common Brown Butterflies are short lived after mating in Spring/early Summer [ October /December]. Female Common Brown Butterflies live for three months or more, and die after laying their eggs directly onto the larvae food source grasses in early March. After hatching Common Brown Butterfly caterpillars feed for several months on a variety of different grass species before pupating.

Most of the Common Brown butterflies seen that afternoon in this area were males.