Recent covers of this Land for Wildlife newsletter give away my personal interest in the ecology and beauty of butterflies. Knowing a bit about butterflies offers me a window into other aspects of nature such as plant identification, plant health, seasons, climate and wildlife movements.
This booklet ties in perfectly with my interest in butterflies and the plants that they depend upon during their larval (caterpillar) stage of life. These plants are referred to as butterfly ‘host plants’, and this booklet lists them all for SEQ.
The clever aspect of this booklet is its reverse index. Firstly, it is indexed by plant name and plant form (e.g. tree, shrub, herb, grass, mistletoe). Secondly, it is indexed alphabetically by the butterfly’s common name. Thus, it is helpful if you want to work out what plant to grow to attract a certain species of butterfly. Plus, it is helpful to work out what plant species might be around if you identify a butterfly and think it might be searching for, or recently emerged from, a host plant.
This booklet has a long and rich history. Its first iteration began in 1992 when Helen Schwencke and Frank Jordan compiled a list of butterfly host plants for SEQ. Thanks to the work of BOIC members, Daphne Bowden, John Moss and many others, this list was turned into the 1st edition booklet produced in 2002. The 2nd edition (2005) and 3rd edition (2010) continued to expand content and improve presentation thanks to the work of BOIC members like Peter Hendry and Ross Kendall. This latest 4th edition (2019) is the result of dedicated effort by John, Ross, Daphne and Peter and others to further update, revise and advance this booklet.
If you are at all interested in attracting butterflies to your garden or working out what butterfly host plants might be on your property, this booklet is a must-have. It is very reasonably priced considering the years of knowledge and refinement that have gone into its creation. Thanks to all BOIC members who have contributed to this wonderful resource.
Paperback | A5 size | April 2019
86 pages
$12 BOIC members
$16 non-members
Plus $3 postage
Available by emailing BOIC at [email protected] or from BOIC displays such as at the Native Plants Qld Spring Flower Show
Review by
Deborah Metters
I would like to become a member of BOIC. However I live in Byron Shire Council, northern NSW.
Is that possible?
I would also like to purchase the book ‘Butterfly Host Plants’
How would I go about this?
all the very best
L eonie Lane
Hi Leonie. We believe that anyone can join BOIC and that the book is still for sale, but please check both with BOIC via [email protected]
Their website is http://www.boic.org.au/index.html?page=/html/home.html