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Post by Zacatak on Jul 18, 2012 13:47:23 GMT -8
hi guys,
im heading over to the gold coast (australia) in september, and i really would like to see the ornithoptera richmondia in its natural environment..
does anyone know any area's around the gold coast im most likely to see this species? are their any parks etc that are close to the gold coast that im able to see it?
any help will be appreciated:)
zac
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Post by Zacatak on Jul 18, 2012 14:04:25 GMT -8
this is a male from my collection;) Attachments:
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Post by Zacatak on Jul 18, 2012 14:05:01 GMT -8
and a female from my collection... Attachments:
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Post by hyalophora on Jul 18, 2012 14:35:12 GMT -8
I was in Australia in January, 2006. I visited friends in Sydney and booked a trip to Cairns afterwards in hopes of also seeing O.Richmondia in the wild.
I got my wish.
I rented a car and spent the first day in Cairns, getting used to driving on the opposite side of the road and all. Then I went exploring just outside of cairns in the Karunda national forest. I took one of the first dirt roads I found and headed up to a lookout point up the hill. Within 5 min of stepping out of the car, I spotted a large female slowly flying along the cliff edges. She was behaving as if she was looking to oviposit somewhere, as there were no flowers around.
I also spotted my first Male gliding along another rest stop with steep cliffs while I was in the daintree national forest. It was overcast and wet, but he was still out flying.
In a nutshell, head north to daintree natoinal forest and wherever you come across an opening in the jungle with steep hills, check it out.
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Post by downundermoths on Jul 18, 2012 14:54:21 GMT -8
It was a few years back admittedly, but O. richmondia were easy to see along the trails around O'Reilly's nature resort in the Gold Coast hinterland. I can only presume that they are still there. A few plant nurseries actively sell the correct Aristolochia Vine in SE Queensland and this hopefully is increasing the range of this magnificent insect...
Barry
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Post by Zacatak on Jul 18, 2012 16:54:11 GMT -8
hyalophora - are you sure it was richmondia you saw, or was it the more common cairns birdwing ornithoptera euphorion?
as i know richmondia is the southern-most birdwing. i would have liked to see the cairns birdwing, but im sure it doesn't venture as far south as the gold coast.
hopefully i might be able to see richmondia along the gold coast thanks to local efforts in cultivating the hostplant;)
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Post by Zacatak on Jul 18, 2012 16:58:09 GMT -8
my best bet would be to visit a local garden center and check for the plants;) as the usual saying goes "where you find the plants.. your likely to find the birdwings attempting to deposit eggs" well its not really a saying but something i made up...but makes perfect sense;)
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cyane
Junior Member
Posts: 47
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Post by cyane on Jul 19, 2012 3:52:47 GMT -8
hyalophora would indeed have seen euphorion around Cairns.
Some places I have seen O richmondia :
Burleigh Heads National Park, Qld
In a small swampy area behind the Coles New World car park at Nerang, Qld
Along the Stanley River near Peachester, Qld
Feeding on Latana flowers in a cow paddock alongside Broken Head Nature reserve, nsw.
By the way, richmondia is protected in Qld but not in NSW (except for in National Parks), but I dont think you would get a CITES export permit unless the specimens come from an approved captive breeder.
David Hall
Sydney
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