#1635 - Charaxes sempronius - Tailed Emperor
Photo by Sandra Baumgart, whose grandchild wanted an ID. Gladstone, Queensland.
An impressive caterpillar for an impressive butterfly.
The Tailed Emperor used to be confined to Northern and Eastern Australia (so he photo is from the original range) but since the 1970s populations have shown up across the other mainland states. It’s never common, but is found in a wide range of habitats, on a wide range of food plants.
Adults feed on sap, fermenting fruit, and moisture from dung, which is not unusual for many butterflies, and the males establish breeding territories on the top of hills.