Rare purple copper butterfly populations discovered in Namadgi National Park

Previously thought to exist only in the Central Tablelands of NSW, the paralucia spinifera is a small butterfly with a thick body, and a wingspan of only 20-30 millimetres.

Ecologists, community experts and volunteers successfully surveyed butterflies in two areas of Namadgi recently.

Land Management Minister Mick Gentleman said additional areas of the park would be surveyed next year as part of an effort to map ACT populations and inform management practices.

"Unfortunately, the recent wet weather limited access to many areas of the park, so we were really encouraged to find populations of the butterflies despite that challenge," Mr Gentleman said.

He said populations of the small iridescent butterfly in the park are very special, as they're protected from the habitat loss or modification resulting from land clearing, spraying, grazing and weed invasion.

Environment Minister Rebecca Vassarotti said the butterflies were very particular about elevation and found only in areas between 850 and 1150 meters.

"They seem to favour post-fire habitats dominated by their primary food, blackthorn plants," she said.

"The butterflies then play an important role in fire recovery as a source of food themselves."

Ms Vassarotti said the surveys conducted this year also suggesting that non-fire-affected areas in the ACT may be important habitats for the species.

"These monitoring efforts, in conjunction with citizen science, are crucial to improving our understanding of the endangered species, including how it interacts with the other plants and animals in the ACT," she said.

First described by scientists in 1978, the purple copper butterfly has been thought to rely on a mutually beneficial relationship with the ant Anonychomyrma itinerans, and on the presence of blackthorn.

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Females lay their eggs on blackthorn bushes, nearby the ants nests.

The ants patrol the blackthorn during the time they take to hatch. As they hatch and mature, the ants keep them underground in their nest during the day and take them out at night to continue grazing on the blackthorn leaves. The ants are rewarded with honeydew from a gland on the larvae's backs.

When grown, the larvae return to the ants before emerging as butterflies.

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