SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BUTTERFLIES

Ogyris halmaturia Tepper   (Eastern Large Bronze Azure)

This is one of the few Australian lycaenid butterflies in which the larvae are believed
to feed on the immature stages of ants. This female from Eyre Peninsula is in the process of laying
eggs on the surface of the nest-byre of the large ant Camponotus terebrans.
The eggs are received directly by the ants and then taken below into the nest.

Worn normal male from Eyre Peninsula

Dwarf male from Upper Southeast

Underside of dwarf male from Upper Southeast

Photography by R. Grund