Name: August Meeting and AGM - Blue Butterflies and Shield-bearing Moths
Start: 2025-08-13T19:30:00+08:00
Location: Kings Park Admin Block

August Meeting and AGM - Blue Butterflies and Shield-bearing Moths

We are fortunate to have two speakers this month, both discussing their work on Australia's Lepidopteran fauna.
Rod Eastwood says "My talk is about the biology and ecology of lycaenid butterflies, especially Jalmenus aridus (P1 listed in WA) and its associated ants.
As an amateur and professional entomologist I've been collecting and researching mostly lycaenid butterflies and ants all over the world, especially in Australia, SE Asia, South & Central America, Europe and North Africa.
My PhD in Environmental Science (Griffith University/Harvard University) focussed on lycaenid butterflies and ants. I spent 11 years at Harvard researching the phylogenetics of butterflies and curating the Harvard Butterfly Collection. In the last five years before I retired to Australia, I was Curator of the Swiss Federal Insect Collection at ETH in Zurich.
I’m now conducting environmental surveys in the Goldfields, as well as providing advice to DBCA and researching the biology, ecology and genetics of J. aridus and Ogyris petrina (Critically Endangered) butterflies endemic to WA. And I'm a volunteer at the WAM."
And Mark Heath will present his observations on Heliozelid moth miners in the Botanic Gardens. "I have a permit to enter the garden beds and so far have recorded Heliozelids on 85 Eucalypt species in the Gardens. These will be 85 species as they are host specific. Now I am gradually rearing the mines as part of the Heliozelid Research Group, led by Doug Hilton (CEO of CSIRO). And we do collect the parasites which emerge. Just ten years ago about 30 Heliozelids were known from Australia. However this Research Group now has about 500 species and is rapidly expanding. Perth and the SW of WA is the epicentre for this group of moths with unique species found on just about every species of Eucalypt."
And of course, it's time for the AGM again. Should you wish to nominate for the committee positions, or register a proxy vote in the event you can't attend in person that evening, please contact Jasper at [email protected] for everything you'll need.