Abstract
The distribution, flight periods, and food plants of Lycaena boldenarum (White), L. salustius (Fabricius), and L. feredayi (Bates) are described, and L. feredayi is recorded for the first time from Central Otago. In sympatry, L. feredayi and L. salustius are seasonally dissociated in peak abundance when only one larval food plant (Muehlen‐beckia australis) is present. In Central Otago habitat selection, correlated with larval food plants, appears to be mutually exclusive between L. boldenarum and the other two species, but only partially so between L. feredayi and L. salustius. Capture/recapture data show that all three species are sedentary, with adult life spans averaging 10 days in L. salustius and about 7 days in L. feredayi and L. boldenarum. Field sex ratios of the three species favour males. Flight, oviposition, and encounter behaviour of the three species are described. Competition in sympatry or different environmental conditions in previous allopatry might explain their ecological separation.
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