SOUTH AUSTRALIAN BUTTERFLIES

Ogyris amaryllis meridionalis Bethune-Baker   (Amaryllis Azure)

Red flowering Amyema melaleucae parasitising the Black Tea-tree (Melaleuca lanceolata) on Yorke Peninsula.
The mistletoe and host have evolved together and the former has no undue effect on the growth of the Melaleuca.
The mistletoe parasitises mainly M. lanceolata but also sometimes M. halmaturorum (Swamp Paperbark)

Closeup of Amyema melaleucae.  The mistletoe is a preferred hostplant
in coastal areas for the Amaryllis Azure and also the Wood White (Delias aganippe)

The red flowering Wire-leaf Mistletoe (Amyema preissii).   It usually parasitises Acacia.
The mistletoe is a preferred hostplant in woodland areas for the Amaryllis Azure

The green and white flowering Pale-leaf Mistletoe (Amyema maidenii), parasitising a
mulga tree (Acacia aneura) in the Far North Region of the state

Bull Oak (Allocasuarina luehmannii) parasitised with Amyema linophylla
(pale grey-leafed clumps on tree), which are in turn parasitised by Lysiana exocarpi (pale green clumps).
The natural tree vegetation is dark green coloured.  Bull Oak trees now only exist
on farms or on roadside verges in the South East Region

Closeup of the white-leafed Bull Oak Mistletoe (Amyema linophylla)
and the pale-green leafed Harlequin Mistletoe (Lysiana exocarpi)

Photography by R. Grund