Gallery 5

Butterflies and other Wildlife

I include here some of my other wildlife studies, including those from the Territor Wildlife Park residency.

I collected butterflies for the Solomon Islands Government collection at Dodo Creek - which I understand was destroyed in the troubles.  I have not wished to capture them since, except as images. The Australian butterflies were from Humpty Doo and I thank Dr Don Franklin and the NT Field Naturalists Club for identifying them.  The Solomon Islands butterflies are in a notebook.  I have tentatively identified them from John Tennant's book, Butterflies of Solomon Islands.

Arnie the Quoll

Arnie had just retired to the Territory Wildlife Park from the Taronga Park captive breeding programme and I was lucky enough to spend some time sketching him and feeding him mealworms. What a delightful creature.

Watercolour

Black footed tree rats

Acrylic and collage on canvas

My Butterfly

In 1984 I caught few specimens of this delilcate silvery Lycaenid butterfly - I realised it was new to science. Some were sent to the British Museum whre they were named Solomona sutakiki malaitae and are shown in John Tennant's book. Despite a careful search, my butterfly has never been recorded since.

watercolour in notebook

Dingy Bush Brown

This butterfly is a common inhabitant of tall grasses. Original aquired for the Royal Darwin Hospital's new Oncology Ward

watercolour

65cm x 85cm

Mynas sp

I think this one was from the Sasa River, Guadalcanal

Watercolour in a notebook

Euploea treitschkei lorenzo

Grass Yellows

Acquired for the Royal Darwin Hospital Oncology Ward

Watercolour

65cm x 85cm

Purple Beak

Seen on the beach on Guadalcanal with the volcanic island, Savo in the distance.

Watercolour in a notebook

Euploea nechos?

Endemic to the Island of Makira

Watercolour in a notebook

Blue Argus

(Junonia orithya)

Watercolour

65cm x 85cm

Parantia schenkii

A transparent butterfly,in mangroves in New Georgia, Solomon Islands

Watercolour in a notebook