Dainty Swallowtail Papilio anactus

Last week we had a great family get together for Christmas lunch. We travelled all the way to Sydney – all 1300 kilometres – to be with our son and his wife’s family. It was one of those rare occasions when we all get together.

After a sumptuous lunch we migrated to the back lawn for some games with the children. Most of us just sat around chatting; the large lunch was sitting too heavily.

I had the camera at the ready and taking photos of family. The birds were not the focus for once, and they were generally being rather uncooperative anyway. They must have all been off visiting family for Christmas. At one point we were entranced by a visiting butterfly. It was constantly on the move around the lemon tree.

Checking on the internet later I identified it as a Daity Swallowtail Papilio anactus. Evidently it is quite common in the Sydney region and has a preference for citrus trees.