Papilio anactus

1 Dainty Swallowtail at Kambah, ACT

Papilio anactus at Kambah, ACT - 3 Feb 2022
Papilio anactus at Kambah, ACT - 3 Feb 2022
Papilio anactus at Kambah, ACT - 3 Feb 2022
Papilio anactus at Kambah, ACT - 3 Feb 2022
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Identification history

Papilio anactus 3 Feb 2022 SuziBond
Papilio anactus 3 Feb 2022 Amata
Unidentified 3 Feb 2022 HelenCross

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User's notes

Presumably drinking beside the creek, and weeing?!

2 comments

SuziBond wrote:
   3 Feb 2022
Hi Helen, this fascinating behaviour is called mud-puddling, where the butterfly finds wet patches of soil and drinks the moisture in order to access nutrients or salts in the moisture. Impressive that you've also managed to capture the butterfly in the process of excreting the excess water obtained during the mud-puddling! Great shots.
HelenCross wrote:
   3 Feb 2022
Thanks Suzi, At first I thought it must have been laying eggs but then I looked up where it does so, and it's not in sand!

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Location information

Sighting information

  • 1 Abundance
  • 3 Feb 2022 02:38 PM Recorded on
  • HelenCross Recorded by

Additional information

  • 25mm to 50mm Animal size

Species information

Record quality

  • Images or audio
  • More than one media file
  • Confirmed by an expert moderator
  • Nearby sighting(s) of same species
  • GPS evidence of location
  • Description
  • Additional attributes
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