The females are the first to leave, moving off to lay the first eggs of the new season on fresh spring growth. The clusters appear in about April and remain until about August or September, when the butterflies disperse after mating. Cluster sites are known in the Sydney Basin and Hunter Valley, as well in the Mt Lofty Ranges, near Adelaide. During the warmth of the day the butterflies fly around the trees, but with the afternoon drop in temperature they settle to reform clusters. The clusters are at first made up mainly of males. The same trees are used for this year after year. In cooler areas, these non-breeding adults may gather together and hang from the branches of trees in large clusters of thousands of butterflies. They remain in a non-breeding state throughout winter, some of them staying in the same district for several months. Further south, adults that develop in autumn do not breed immediately. For Wanderers near the coast north of the Richmond River in New South Wales, breeding can continue for most of the year with one generation following another. They take nectar from flowers to maintain their energy levels as they go.Īs winter approaches, the butterflies leave the inland areas as temperatures drop and migrate towards the coast. During this time they can move to unoccupied areas to find new plants on which to lay eggs. They are strong fliers and can cover long distances during their adult life, which is about a month to six weeks in summer.
They have also been found in isolated parts of the Northern Territory. In summer, Wanderers are found throughout their range along the east coast of Australia from Queensland to South Australia, and in south-west Western Australia.
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