Uploaded September 2021 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The beautiful Ulysses blue butterfly - Papilio ulysses - from Far North Queensland in Australia.
Papilio ulysses, the Ulysses butterfly, is a large swallowtail butterfly of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its size varies depending on subspecies, but the wingspan is about 10.5 cm in Queensland.
This butterfly is used as an emblem for tourism in Queensland, Australia.
The Ulysses butterfly is one of Tropical North Queensland’s most distinctive and unique butterfly species. It’s also part of our logo!
The scientific name for the Ulysses is papilio ulysses
Many people visit the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary purely to see the iridescent blue butterfly in flight, and to try and snap a photo. It is considered to be one of the most elusive butterflies and can be very hard to take photographs of due to their bright blue colouring. They are easy to spot by their predators, so they fly very quickly and erratically to protect themselves.
The Ulysses butterfly is found in most tropical rainforest areas such as Northern Queensland, Northern islands of Australia and Papua New Guinea and lives below the rainforest canopy.
The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is located in Kuranda.
Did you know?
Its common name is “Mountain Blue Butterfly” and is a large swallowtail butterfly.
The Ulysses wing span is between 100 and 130 mm.
The Ulysses caterpillar is green and white which is the same colour as the plants they feed on. This provides excellent camouflage from predators.
The Ulysses butterfly typically has a wingspan of about 14 cm (5.5 in), but depending on subspecies has some variations in size (western subspecies largest). The upperside of the wings are an iridescent electric blue; the underside is a more subdued black and brown.
Perhaps the most popular insect of the Wet Tropics is the Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses), an unmistakable creature with brilliant electric blue upper wings, trimmed in black. A large swallowtail species, the Ulysses can be seen throughout the region in rainforest and suburban gardens.
The Ulysses caterpillar is thickset, a lovely grass green colour with a banana yellow collar and spots. Its favourite food plant is a handsome tree with clusters of small pink flowers growing straight out of the branches. The tree is called the Euodia (Melicope elleryana) and its floral rewards are also the favourite of many birds and flying foxes
Music Credit:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
One Day Soon by Smith The Mister smiththemister.bandcamp.com
Smith The Mister bit.ly/Smith-The-Mister-YT
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/3n7Afjz
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/aB4TmtahYE8
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The beautiful Ulysses blue butterfly - Papilio ulysses - from Far North Queensland in Australia.
Papilio ulysses, the Ulysses butterfly, is a large swallowtail butterfly of Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Its size varies depending on subspecies, but the wingspan is about 10.5 cm in Queensland.
This butterfly is used as an emblem for tourism in Queensland, Australia.
The Ulysses butterfly is one of Tropical North Queensland’s most distinctive and unique butterfly species. It’s also part of our logo!
The scientific name for the Ulysses is papilio ulysses
Many people visit the Australian Butterfly Sanctuary purely to see the iridescent blue butterfly in flight, and to try and snap a photo. It is considered to be one of the most elusive butterflies and can be very hard to take photographs of due to their bright blue colouring. They are easy to spot by their predators, so they fly very quickly and erratically to protect themselves.
The Ulysses butterfly is found in most tropical rainforest areas such as Northern Queensland, Northern islands of Australia and Papua New Guinea and lives below the rainforest canopy.
The Australian Butterfly Sanctuary is located in Kuranda.
Did you know?
Its common name is “Mountain Blue Butterfly” and is a large swallowtail butterfly.
The Ulysses wing span is between 100 and 130 mm.
The Ulysses caterpillar is green and white which is the same colour as the plants they feed on. This provides excellent camouflage from predators.
The Ulysses butterfly typically has a wingspan of about 14 cm (5.5 in), but depending on subspecies has some variations in size (western subspecies largest). The upperside of the wings are an iridescent electric blue; the underside is a more subdued black and brown.
Perhaps the most popular insect of the Wet Tropics is the Ulysses butterfly (Papilio ulysses), an unmistakable creature with brilliant electric blue upper wings, trimmed in black. A large swallowtail species, the Ulysses can be seen throughout the region in rainforest and suburban gardens.
The Ulysses caterpillar is thickset, a lovely grass green colour with a banana yellow collar and spots. Its favourite food plant is a handsome tree with clusters of small pink flowers growing straight out of the branches. The tree is called the Euodia (Melicope elleryana) and its floral rewards are also the favourite of many birds and flying foxes
Music Credit:
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
One Day Soon by Smith The Mister smiththemister.bandcamp.com
Smith The Mister bit.ly/Smith-The-Mister-YT
Free Download / Stream: bit.ly/3n7Afjz
Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/aB4TmtahYE8
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
