Laced (Australian) Fritillary Records

It's not their fault they don't have feathers! Doesn't make them any less interesting. And just like the birds, it's good to know what species are about locally at any given time.

There's expertise within the club and beyond on most aspects of our local fauna. Let's tap into it.
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Rod Hobson
Posts: 509
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am

Laced (Australian) Fritillary Records

Post by Rod Hobson »

Folks,

Does anyone have any records, historical or recent, of the Laced Fritillary (Argyreus hyperbius inconstans), also known as the Australian Fritillary?

This uncommon butterfly is confined to small and scattered localities in coastal south east Queensland and north eastern New South Wales. The butterfly is known from near Gympie in Queensland to just north of Port Macquarie in New South Wales. Unfortunately the most northerly known population, from 10km south of Gympie, has since been destroyed. Historical records from as far north as Rockhampton and further south in the Hunter River have not been confirmed. The butterfly is also known extralimitally from the New Guinea Highlands, China, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Indonesia.

The Laced Fritillary's preferred habitats are wet heaths, sedgelands and swamps where its larval food plant Viola betonicifolia is found. This is a small herb that grows under grass clumps and grass-like plants such as Lomandra longifolia.

The male fritillary has a wingspan of 60 mm whilst that of the female is 66 mm. Adults have a slow, fluttering and gliding flight. The butterfly is more often seen in winter but can be quite common in summer on occasions. In Queensland this insect is designated as endangered under the Nature Conservation (Wildlife) Regulation 2006.

I have one personal record only for this butterfly of over 20 years vintage; from an area of wallum at Beachmere near Caboolture but much of that particular habitat is now cleared. Retraction of this species' range has been greatly influenced by habitat loss through land clearing.

I am seeking information on this butterfly for a management plan for SEQ wetlands and all data will be confidential. If anyone can help on this matter either contact me through this forum or at: thehobsons@bigpond.com

I t may not be advisable to post exact locations through this open forum. Indeed, approximate locations are sufficient for my requirements but dates last recorded are important.

Anyone wishing more information on this butterly (or other Australian species) should consult the excellent 'Butterflies of Australia - Their Identification, Biology and Distribution' by Michael F. Braby (2000). Vols 1 & 2, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood. This author has also published a very handy field guide, a 'must have' for any serious field naturalist. It is titled 'The Complete Guide to Butterflies of Australia' . This book was published in 2004 by CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood.

' Butterflies of Australia' by Toowoomba resident and respected authority on all things lepidopteran the late I.B.F. (Ian) Common (and co-authored by D.F.Waterhouse) is another important reference work on Australian butterflies. It has been republished by CSIRO Publishing. Also well worth having on your shelf.

Regards,
Rod Hobson
Last edited by Rod Hobson on Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:41 am, edited 2 times in total.
Rod Hobson
Posts: 509
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am

More on the Laced Fritillary

Post by Rod Hobson »

Folks,

It appears that the Laced Fritillary is in very poor shape throughout its range in Australia. I just got the following reply from a good friend and butterfly pundit Wes Jenkinson:

"Rod, as for the Australian Fritillary, I have not come across this species anywhere. I spoke to John Moss regarding some details; they used to be present in Queensland in a well known site near Gympie, which has been destroyed by the farmer. The last known specimens were in 1987 from this location. There was also a possible sighting, but no specimen retained, from near Ningi in 1994. The last specimen we know of was in April 2001 collected near Port Macquarie in NSW."

Regards,
Rod Hobson
Last edited by Rod Hobson on Sat Aug 14, 2010 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
Rod Hobson
Posts: 509
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:03 am

Additional Fritillary Information.

Post by Rod Hobson »

Folks,

I have just read through the 2006 update on the Laced Fritillary in "The Action Plan for Australian Butterflies". In this work it states that of the 23 known localities where this butterfly has been recorded only four remain extant. This is across its entire range in both New South Wales and Queensland. This represents a contraction of over 80% of its known range.

Some of the earliest records of the species are from Glenugie Creek near Grafton (1895), Ballina (1898), Billinudgel (1910), Lauderdale (1911) and Indooroopilly (1916). In New South Wales it has also been recorded from Condong, Coraki, Dorrigo and Byron Bay. In Queensaland the fritillary has been recorded at Eumundi, Coolum and from the vicinities of Bribie Island and Gympie. The butterfly is, in all likelihood now extict from most of these places although it was recorded at Billinudgel in November 1994 and April 1998, from near Port Macquarie in June 2000 and April 2001, and from the vicinity of Bribie Island between April and July 2001. There ia an historical record of the species (1888) from near Mount Bellenden-Ker in northern Queensland by Arthur Sidney Olliff (1865-1895), New South Wales government entomologist and taxonomist; a 'curious' record to say the least.

Habitat destruction is the greatest threat to the Laced Fritillary. At a site near Condong in the Tweed Valley of northern New South Wales the butterfly's habitat was destroyed after, 'the area had recently been sprayed with herbicide and the drains around the cane fields had been cleared and the host plants Viola destroyed'. Other possible threats to this insect are posed by competition and predation by introduced ants particularly the Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) and the Coastal Brown Ant (Pheidole megacephala).

It surely looks like this the Laced Fritillary has got a battle ahead of it. Unfortunately it's 'not Robinson Crusoe', as far as our Aussie fauna goes.

Reference: Sands, D.P.A. and New, T.R. (2002). "The Action Plan for Australian Butterflies", Environment Australia, Canberra.

Regards,
Rod Hobson
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