These butterflies are common visitors to gardens in their range during warm weather, right up until May each year.

Steve Corbett, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife said “The easiest way to attract Dainty Swallowtail butterflies is with citrus plants.

“These butterflies, also known as Dingy Swallowtails or Small Citrus Butterflies, absolutely love citrus including non-natives such as the humble lemon or orange tree.

“With their black wings spotted with white, orange and pale blue, Swallowtails are gorgeous garden visitors. You can encourage them to stay around your garden by also providing nectar bearing plants and flowers for them to feed on. Butterflies love purple, orange, yellow and red coloured flowers that that are shallow enough for them to easily reach the nectar inside,” Mr Corbett said.

“Butterflies are a beautiful sight and are also often an indicator that the local environment is healthy.”

Tips to encourage Swallowtails to your backyard

* If you want to see butterflies around, you’ll need to see caterpillars first. Avoid removing caterpillars from your garden if possible. Butterfly caterpillars don’t often cause any obvious damage to plants, except for the introduced Cabbage White Butterfly.

* Native plants that attract Swallowtails and feed their caterpillars include Native Finger Lime (Citrus australiasica), Native Lime (Citrus garrawayae), and Desert Lime (Citrus glauca).

* Avoid using any insecticides, pesticides, herbicides or chemicals on your plants. Many insects can be removed by hand or with water, or by other insects, birds or lizards already in your garden.

Mr Corbett added “Dainty Swallowtails lay their eggs on the new growth of citrus plants. Their caterpillars are black with orange and white spots and black spines.

“The bright colours of the caterpillar and butterfly warn predators that they may be toxic to eat, but they are not harmful to humans at all. Once the caterpillar is ready, it suddenly turns green with orange-yellow spots. Next it creates a green-brown pupa which looks like a broken stick. It hangs off a citrus branch, camouflaged as part of the plant.”

It takes 10 to 14 days for the butterfly to emerge during summer and during autumn it may take four weeks to emerge, usually on a dark night.