2012 Programme developed

On Saturday 21st January, the club met at Lyn Johnson's home to set out the programme for the coming year.
The final programme is packed with exciting speakers, and a long week-end trip to visit some past members who have taken some Toodyay with them, and are working with the local community on natural history projects.

Above: The planning night. Photo Beth Frayne.
To view our 2012 Programme, click here

There have been a number of unusual sightings around the Shire, due partly to the late rains. On the Frayne's property in town, an influx of butterflys on a Melaleuca undulata (hidden honeymyrtle) have created quite a display. The bushes, planted in 2000, have never flowered so profusely. Photos by Beth Frayne

These butterflies are all of the one species, the lesser wanderer (Danaus chrysippus) which is a native species with a very wide range, including North Africa, the Middle East, South-east Asia, and Indonesia, as well as Australia. It is related to the larger monarch (D. plexippus). Both species are very mobile, and breed on milkweeds (cottonbushes), family Asclepiadaceae, of which there are both native and introduced species in Australia.
The monarch, famous for its long migrations in North America, has found its way from there to Australia by itself, following the accidental introduction to Pacific islands and Australia of milkweeds, particularly species of Gomphocarpus: Within Australia, the lesser wanderer breeds mostly in tropical parts and the arid interior. At times its numbers swell, and it spreads to other parts, including the South-West.
(Information supplied by Robert Powell. Robert, now living in England, who was a friend of the TNC, being Guest Speaker on a numbewr of occasions, and leading the Club on walks).