The wonderful world of insects – ‘Herding Caterpillars’ in Adelaide and join our new insect workshops in the Limestone Coast

Could you ever imagine that a butterfly would be helped by an ant to complete its life cycle?! When you consider that ants can be a formidable force in the bush, its amazing to know that ants will tend to a particular special caterpillar species without it ending up as lunch.

The species is the rare Chequered Copper butterfly, now being conserved in the Adelaide Parklands.

The Chequered Copper’s symbiotic relationship with ants is so amazing in fact, that there’s an entire festival created around this extraordinary life cycle. This festival, ‘Herding Caterpillars’ came to town recently in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens from August 6-11, 2024. Bryan had the pleasure of attending both the gala event and the day-time activities.

During the festival story tellers beautifully described the life cycle of the Chequered Copper butterfly and the history of their 2011 re-discovery in the Adelaide Parklands, school students entered the world of the Chequered Copper in virtual reality, and there were augmented reality experiences, theatre performances and even a ‘camouflage trail’. It was a great event, and is a fantastic way to promote the conservation of this special species and its habitat. A short explanation of the creation of the ‘Herding Caterpillars’ concept can be seen in the video below or by clicking here.

Herding Caterpillars Festival is supported by Green Adelaide, Department for Industry, Innovation and Science, the City of Adelaide, the Adelaide Economic Development Agency and other partners.

INSECT WORKSHOPS COMING SOON TO THE LIMESTONE COAST

As a segue into other insect related projects, NGT would like to invite anyone interested to attend a workshop series on Insects through a project funded by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board. The series will include six workshops (and field trips) to various parts of the region aiming to provide you with the skills and tools to identify any insect you might find in your area, how to contribute observations through citizen science, and become involved in conservation projects involving insects in the region. More info coming soon, and places will be limited. Register your interest today in this FREE course with Jess on 0438 671 356 or email Jess Bourchier.

This project is supported by the Limestone Coast Landscape Board’s Grassroots Grants program, and is funded by the regional landscape levy.