I was taking photos of bees in my red bottlebrush bush when I spotted this butterfly up high in the tree outside our kitchen windows.

I discovered that it is called the Australian Painted Lady. It has an alternative name of Blue-Spotted Painted Lady because of its tiny blue spots on its hind wings. I didn’t get close enough to see those clearly. The male genitalia is different from other painted ladies, so ours is considered a separate species (Vanessa kershawi).

In Spring, the adult butterflies migrate southward from Queensland and New South Wales, sometimes en masse.

I will have to keep an eye open for caterpillars. They love daisies, including capeweed. I haven’t seen many of these butterflies about, though, so I do not like my chances.

So, I wandered off to another part of the garden and I could hardly believe it landed right by me. Just a little too far away. Certainly does not look much with the wings closed. You can see the white ends of his antennae.