Bush Crew diaries December 2024

Published on 27 November 2024

The end of spring brought with it the completion of the Eltham Copper Butterfly larvae counts within Banyule.

With the help of community volunteers, Andrew Yandell Habitat Reserve saw the 2nd highest count on record: 251 larvae were counted throughout the reserve, with 2024 being the 21st year of data collection by the Banyule Bushland Management Unit.

Over the years of data we have observed that annual larvae numbers directly correlate with the general climate trend. In periods of high rainfall, there seems to be a drop in larvae numbers. In periods of dry, larvae numbers are seen to increase dramatically.

This is hypothesised to be due to the moisture retention, or lack there of in the soil amongst ant nests where the larvae reside during daylight hours. We believe that the wetter the soil, the less successful the larvae seem to be.