ASDP Butterflies & Moths

Alice Springs Desert Park

ASDP Butterflies & MothsBanksia Moth – Caterpillar Caper White Butterfly Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp sthenelus) Day Flying Moth / Mistletoe Moth Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides) Noctuinae (Caterpillar) Processionary Caterpillar

Butterflies and moths are known collectively as lepidopterans, belonging to the order Lepidoptera, in the class Insecta. The Gold Coast region is home to a great variety of butterflies and moths. As well as the winged adult species, keep an eye out for the various instar stages including caterpillar and pupa/chrysalis.

Click on the thumbnail images to go to the page on each butterfly/moth…

Banksia Moth caterpillar (Psalidostetha banksiae), Alice Springs Desert Park NT — Banksia Moth caterpillar (Psalidostetha banksiae)

Caper White Butterfly (Belenois java teutonia) laying their eggs on the Caper Bush (Capparis spinosa var. nummularia) — Caper White Butterfly (Belenois java teutonia)

Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp. sthenelus), Alice Springs Desert Park NT — Chequered Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus ssp. sthenelus)

Comocrus behri - caterpillar of the Day Flying Moth — Comocrus behri (caterpillar of the Mistletoe Moth)

Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides), Alice Springs Desert Park NT — Heliotrope Moth (Utetheisa pulchelloides)

Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworms and Dart Moths), Alice Springs Desert Park NT — Noctuinae (Cutworms and Dart Moths)

Processionary Caterpillar, Alice Springs Desert Park, NT — Processionary Caterpillar (Ochrogaster lunifer)

Many online resources often group moths and butterflies together, however moths outnumber butterflies in both numbers and species. In Australia alone, there are over 10,500 species of moths, compared with about 400 species of butterflies. Whilst there are very few species of butterflies yet to be discovered, in Australia there is estimated to be at least another 10,000 moth species yet to be discovered, studied and named.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera

Footnote & References

Moths, butterflies and skippers: Order Lepidoptera, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/moths-butterflies-and-skippers-order-lepidoptera/
What are the differences between butterflies and moths? Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/insects/what-are-the-differences-between-butterflies-and-moths/
Butterflies Australia, https://www.butterflies.org.au/

ASDP InsectsAnts Bees Beetles Butterflies & Moths Diptera Hemiptera / Heteroptera Orthoptera Wasps Tropidoderus gracilifemur

ASDP FaunaASDP Arachnida ASDP Birds ASDP Insects ASDP Reptiles Dingo Ghost Bat Greater Bilby Numbat Red Kangaroo Short-beaked Echidna Spinifex Hopping Mouse Western Quoll

Alice Springs Desert ParkFauna Flora Nature Theatre Nocturnal House