Brahmaea wallichii
Caterpillars are the best fun to look at, we think! Brahmaea wallichii is a moth from the Brahmaeidae family. It is found in the north of India, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Taiwan and Japan. How extremely weird and beautiful is this species? Photos courtesy of https://au.pinterest.com/pin/298574650271013073/
Welcome to Koko!
We’re a bit belated, but please join us in welcoming Koko to our team here at Australian Butterfly Sanctuary! Pepe has abandoned us to go traveling (oh no!), so Koko has stepped into the lab to take over. It’s a busy job feeding and caring for 3000 hungry little caterpillars every day, so we are […]
Killer Caterpillar!
During the summer months we often have Hercules Moths and caterpillars on display. These Moths from the Saturniidae family are a local favourite as they are one of the largest moths in the world and the caterpillars are HUGE – up to 14.5 cm in length and weighing up to 45 grams (and pretty cute […]
Waterproof Butterfly Wings
The lotus leaf was thought to have the best surface for repelling water and staying dry in nature, but a team from MIT in Boston have found a superior waterproof structure in butterfly wings. Adding tiny ridges to a silicon surface made water bounce off it 40% faster than what had been previously achieved. Similar […]
Hong Kong Airlines visit our sanctuary
We were lucky to host a trade famil from Hong Kong Airlines last week, with delegates enjoying the beauty and serenity of our beautiful sanctuary … and of course, our butterflies! A beautiful lunch was provided by our sister park, Rainforestation Nature Park, served out on our deck in the sunshine. It was wonderful to […]
New display – Morpho Butterflies
We are very proud to have a new display in our museum, showcasing Morpho butterflies from South America! This is very exciting for all of our guides and staff, especially Robin who said it was a “knock your socks off” moment. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Trichogramma Wasps
We have always known about Trichogramma Wasps because they lay their eggs inside our butterfly eggs. They are so tiny (less than 1mm), you need a microscope to see them! To protect our eggs, we collect them every hour and half, so the wasps cannot parasitize them. Recently at our microscope we have had some […]
Morning Tea at the Sanctuary
On Tuesday this week, we hosted a morning tea for a group of local ladies from Cairns. They started their visit with a guided tour of the sanctuary, learning about our butterflies and their life cycle. Once they were done, we served tea and coffee with nibbles on the deck between our Aviary and Laboratory. The […]
Birdwing Butterfly Display
We are excited to announce our new Birdwing Butterfly Display in our museum! David, who works in our breeding laboratory, has been breeding butterflies since he was 9 and also pins and sets butterflies for display. He has helped to create this masterpiece, and it looks wonderful in our museum! Make sure you check it […]
What happens inside a pupa?
Ever wondered what happens inside a pupa? I know we have done a Fun Fact about this before but this web site has 3D scans of the changes that go on inside the pupa. It’s pretty cool, so make sure you check it out! Web site and photo courtesy of http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/05/14/3-d-scans-caterpillars-transforming-butterflies-metamorphosis/