Reappeared Just In Time / Arid Bronze Azure Butterfly

This is an original artwork of an Australian Endangered Butterfly known as the "Arid Bronze Azure" with the scientific name of Ogyris subterrestris petrina.

Originally from Victoria, they were thought to be extinct. They returned appearing in the town of Mukinbudin in Western Australia. This butterfly deposits eggs at the entrances of sugar ants’ nests, which feed them. It also eats the ants for food. There are estimated to be 50 in the colony and are Critically Endangered. The artwork is titled "Reappeared Just In Time".

This was part of a solo exhibition in which I painted twenty portraits of twenty Australian native animals that are disappearing - a tiny selection of the 10,000+ species worldwide that are extinct or facing extinction. To add accuracy and relevancy you will find a guide on the right hand panel of each of these artworks. The line indicates the size of the animal and a circle with capital letters alongside it will state is classification categorised by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

It measures 35.5cm x 45.5cm x 4cm (14” x 18” x 1.5”).

The painting comes sealed and ready to hang on a wall with d-rings and wire.