The Mallee Bronze Azure is a finalist in the 2026 ABC Australian Insect of the Year! Voting is open on the ABC website until the end of October.

After the January bushfire at Raakajilm, the Sugar Ants that look after our Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly were short of food. So for two months I cooked them dinner: about 60 trays of homemade honeydew jelly a night. Recipe included.

The Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly has been prioritised for assessment as nationally threatened under the EPBC Act.

This is a hero ant. The Sugar Ant (Camponotus terebrans) looks after the caterpillars of the Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly. And what goes on underground? We think the caterpillar is eating the ant’s babies!

A quick summary about why the Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly is so special

Two species - the Arid Bronze Azure in Western Australia and the Mallee Bronze Azure in the Victorian and South Australian Mallee. How did this split come about?

Well, we made it to number seven. But I’m not sure the list of Australian butterflies most likely to go extinct is a list that you want to top.

We’re trying to establish a colony of Sugar Ants so we can observe how this hero ant raises the caterpillars of the Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly.

This identification sheet will help you find the “hero ant” that looks after the rare Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly.

This identification sheet will help you spot the rare Mallee Bronze Azure butterfly.