Butterfly numbers sky high with weather conditions creating the perfect breeding ground

Butterfly numbers in Townsville have boomed after the wet and humid conditions have created the perfect breeding ground.

Butterflies are awash across Townsville with the recent rain mixed with the humid conditions making the perfect breeding ground for the winged creatures. This butterfly was photographed on Townsville's The Strand. PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

Butterfly numbers in Townsville have boomed after the wet and humid conditions created the perfect breeding ground.

Thousands of lemon migrant butterflies have hatched from their chrysalises and are fluttering around in swarms along The Strand, in gardens and parks.

Queensland Museum curator of entomology Dr Christine Lambkin said the healthy numbers were because of a combination of perfect conditions.

RELATED

• Townsville wet season a perfect breeding ground for new fungi crops

• Townsville’s 10 most popular dog breeds revealed

“These butterflies do occur throughout the year but they only breed in the wet season and we have had huge droughts,” she said. “So they have the right wet season this year so they are really breeding because the conditions are still warm out and the vegetation is lovely and soft.”

Dr Lambkin said butterflies could lay inside their chrysalis for years waiting for the right conditions to hatch.

“It is really good, it is an indication that the bust is over and the boom is back,” she said.

The lemon migrant butterfly are typically more visible in the midmorning and early afternoons and fly around 2-7 metres above the ground.

Originally published as Butterfly numbers sky high with weather conditions creating the perfect breeding ground