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Eltham Copper Butterfly
and Sculpture in
Alistair Knox Park
WITH SWEET
BURSARIA
The area around Eltham supports the largest of
the few remaining populations of the threatened
Eltham copper butterfly in Victoria. This
butterfly was first discovered around Eltham in
1938 and was thought to have become extinct
around the 1950’s. It was rediscovered in 1986
in Eltham, in a small patch of bushland that was
intended to be bulldozed to build houses. Here it
is pictured with the native plant sweet bursaria
(Bursaria spinosa)
due to its close symbiotic
association with a group of ants from the genus
Notoncus
and the shrub sweet bursaria.
Adult butterflies lay their eggs on the roots and
stems of sweet bursaria. Once the eggs hatch, the
ants guard the caterpillars (providing protection
from predators) ushering the larvae to and from
the ant nest at the base of the shrub, to feed on
the sweet bursaria leaves at night. In return, the
ants feed on the sugar secretions exuded from
the body of the caterpillar.
The sculpture,
A Classical Landscape
by
Cliff Burtt stands proudly in the Alistair Knox
Park as a gateway feature for drivers entering
the Eltham township.
PHOTOGRAPHS
Eltham Copper Butterfly
Photographer Andrea Canzano
Sculpture in Alistair Knox Park
Photographer Nerina Lascelles
INFORMATION
Eltham Copper Butterfly
Nillumbik Shire Council
accessed at
http://www.nillumbik. vic.gov.au/Environment/Natural-environment/Native-flora-and-
fauna/Eltham-Copper-Butterfly