Vanessa kershawi - Australian Painted Lady
The adult butterflies have a wing span around 5 cms. The adult males and females are similar in appearance. The forewing above is black with orange-red markings, and has four white dots near the apex, and a white bar running inward from the costa. The hindwing above is orange with three or four blue-centred eyespots arranged along a subterminal line.
lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au/nymp/kershawi-v.html
The Australian painted lady butterfly is mostly confined to Australia, although westerly winds have dispersed it to islands east of Australia, including New Zealand. Debate surrounds the taxonomy of this species. Some believe that the Australian painted lady should be a subspecies to the painted lady due to the similarity in lifestyle and behavior.
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