The Eltham Copper Butterfly, Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida, has
aroused considerable attention for a number of reasons. These
include its rediscovery after it was believed to be extinct, its
main populations occurring in small bushland patches in the
middle of suburbia and its complex interaction with a plant and
an ant. Eltham Copper Butterfly Photographer: Alan Yen / Source:
Museum Victoria The Eltham Copper Butterfly is a small,
attractive butterfly that flies in summer. It belongs to the
family Lycaenidae and like many other species of lycaenids, it
has a close association with a group of ants; in this case, ants
from a genus called Notoncus. The butterfly larvae live within
the underground nests of Notoncus, and emerge at night to feed
on their food plant, Sweet Bursaria (Bursaria spinosa). The ants
protect the Eltham Copper larvae while they feed, and in return
it is thought that the ants feed upon secretions from the
butterfly larvae. As the Eltham Copper Butterfly larvae feed
only upon Sweet Bursaria, t