A little while ago I dropped a few plants into my yard hoping to attract butterflies. My choices were little evodiella (Evodiella muelleri) for the Ulysses blue (Papilio ulysses), and native dutchman’s pipe (Aristolochia tagala) for the Cairns birdwing (Troides euphorion). I had hopes for the evodiella, as I have seen Ulysses butterflies around the area, but so far I’ve seen no sign of success.

I have never seen a Cairns birdwing around the beaches, so my hopes for the dutchman’s pipe being successful were slimmer. This evening, however, I noticed several large caterpillars munching away. Here’s one of them:

Cairns birdwing caterpillar

I guess that confirms that the Cairns birdwing is around Trinity Beach. The caterpillars grow to around 9cm, but this one was only around 4 and has a bit of growing to do. I have a suspicion that A. tagala being in flower and fruit may have helped attract the butterflies.

Aristolochia tagala flowers and fruit

The E. muelleri hasn’t flowered yet, and I assume the scent might help – though it’s not the best species for the Ulysses blue. The best, Mellicope elleryana, grows far too large for my small garden. I am thinking about dropping one in anyway, and keeping it well pruned.

I’ll try to get a better photo of the caterpillars when the light is better.