Comments are made on the size and composition of the fauna, taxonomic impediment, species concepts and utility of subspecies. Gender changes affect 40 species/subspecies group names, of which 27 are valid taxa and 13 are junior synonyms. Of the valid species, 430 are recorded from Australia, of which 404 occur on the mainland and Tasmania and 26 are restricted to remote oceanic islands. species and subspecies) are recognised in the fauna. A total of 1,134 available species group names are listed, of which 423 are junior synonyms. A revised checklist of the butterflies (Hesperioidea: Hesperiidae and Papilionoidea: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Riodinidae, Lycaenidae) of Australia is presented, incorporating recent changes to both the higher and lower systematic levels of classification based on review of the literature, mandatory changes of specific epithets to achieve gender agreement, together with recommended common names. Butterflies have been identified as a key bioindicator group of invertebrates for monitoring, assessing environmental change and for biodiversity conservation. Checklists summarise available taxonomic and systematic knowledge and in part provide a framework to optimise efforts and scarce resources for biodiversity conservation. Taxonomy is a major scientific discipline that underpins the preservation of biological diversity, but the discipline of taxonomy itself has, until recently, remained somewhat disconnected from conservation biology.
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