www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

Hello to all butterfly enthusiasts! Finally I'm making a start to a diary covering my time in South Africa. I've been meaning to start writing for some months now, but of course every time I try, I get distracted by a butterfly or some other creature!

Then two weeks ago, I was unlucky and crashed my motorbike one evening on the way to check the borehole. Since then I've been bed bound and unable to reach any internet connection. Now slowly I'm regaining movement and soon hope to be out chasing butterflies once again. Conditions are just perfect at the moment and according to my friend, who is staying with me, many fresh specimens of various species have hatched this last week. It's been trying I must say, just to be able to spot a few flitting past my bedroom door with the aid of binoculars.

For a large portion of the year I migrate from UK, south to where the weather is more conductive to pass my time. For most of my adult life I've done this - spending the European winter in various countries around the world with the main stints in Australia, India and South Africa...

I'm fortunate enough that my grandfather, when he was young, had enough of city life and decided to break out into the bush and live a more wild existence. He had recently married my grandmother and together they bought land deep in the bush of Limpopo province in the northern part of South Africa. It was hard beginnings and to get a government loan they needed to find permanent water. So they camped in a canvas tent under a large marula tree at the head of an enchanted and magical valley and started digging a well. It was wild then and still is now. But then communications were non existent so time had a different meaning. For three months my grandmother hardly left the tent due to fear of the unknown. But gradually she grew accustomed to their new environment and eventually fell in love with her new surroundings.

After months or digging and dynamiting my grandfather struck water, a loan was secured, and they were able to make a permanent life on the land.

That was eighty years ago - they have both gone now and I've been lucky enough ( along with my cousin) to take over what they started all those years ago.

In the early years the only way to make money in this area was to farm cattle and this carried on until around ten years ago when due to health reasons my uncle decided to sell the cows and focus in on hunting during the winter months. We have mainly local people who come once a year to shoot and stock their freezers for the rest of the year. This hunting takes very little time of the year and so the rest is left open to maintenance of roads, the water network and a thousand other jobs which always need doing - oh and of course the study of nature and in particular the butterflies.

The farm is situated in what's called the bushveld, about four hours to the north west of Johannesburg. A chain of low mountains run through the area, of volcanic origin and so perhaps 75 per cent of the land is inaccessible unless one is prepared to walk. Many different habitats are present, from grasslands to heavily wooded areas, damp valleys and lush spots where after heavy rain springs issue forth. The farm is actually called buffalo springs, named after the particularly strong spring that rises from the top of a hanging valley to tumble down a cliff to the lower areas below.

Apart from the cattle which were kept here, the bush has seen almost no interference by man. Of course people have lived in this area for eternity but their actions have only but touched the nature.

Around my house a troop of vervet monkeys live and above in the valley where the track passes to reach my place, a couple of troops of chacma baboons spend the nights. Nightly, leopards walk past the house along with a host of smaller mammals including brown hyenas, honey badgers, porcupines, civets, Genet's and aardvarks. During the day antelope of various species can be seen including impala, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, giraffes, mountain reedbuck and a host of other species. Sitting quietly by the house it's often possible to see up to forty or fifty antelope of different species grazing on the lush grass in my garden ( I have no fence at the moment so the bush runs up to the house).

Bird life is rich with six eagle species present and many small raptors/owls and hundreds of other birds from hornbills, lilac breasted rollers to tiny fire finches and waxbills. It's actually a bird watchers paradise and I'm yet to get to grips with all the birds. The area, again because of the topography, is rich in tree and plant species. Trees we have a comprehensive list but of complete flora, not yet.

Which then leads to the Insects and specifically the butterflies. I've spent most of my life looking at the insects - not truly seriously - but avidly and still daily I see new species. The variety seems endless and it's extremely easy to fall down a rabbit hole if something in particular catches one's eye.

From about the age of ten I started looking at the butterflies with my father, and since then have had a life long fascination with these incredible flying gems. I feel lucky and privileged to have this area of the planet to study at my free will when the fancy takes me. Until now I never truly got down to the job ( I was busy fishing and travelling), but for the last two seasons I've been making a concerted effort and got much deeper into the subject - still I'm only scratching the surface but at the moment I'm working on a comprehensive list of the butterfly species which occur here.

I'd like to keep a records of this here and will try over the next week's and months to share some of the discoveries I've made with the readers of UK butterflies.
I can't promise updates will be too regular because I also have a lot of other work to do ( house renovation/ garden work) and I also don't have direct access to the internet. But when I have time I'll share photos and the discoveries I've made.

Regards, Scott

Sounds like you've found a little piece of paradise Scott. I'll keep this brief as I am still officially 'in hibernation' for a little while yet but sorry to hear about your accident. Looking forward to seeing more of your photos.

Fascinating report. Thank you. I await your further communications with breath considerably bated.

Tony M.

A truly fascinating story Scott, and a diary that many UKBers will follow with great interest I’m sure.

Good luck with the continued recovery of course - looking forward to plenty more when you get a chance to post.

Many thanks for the background information, Scott. Sounds like a near idyllic lifestyle (motorcycle accidents apart).

I've often fantasised about never having to endure a winter by switching between northern & southern hemispheres. Looks like you have made that a routine!

I'm looking forward to learning more about your home area. I'm sure you've seen many, many spectacular things.

Good morning,

I'd like to start my diary by covering the different species of butterflies one may see here in the farm and I thought I'd start with the family Nymphalidae concentrating on the sub family Charaxinae. English readers may not think they are too familiar with this group of butterflies, but actually in UK there is one species that is so similar in its design and habits that a first time visitor here may feel very familiar with the charaxes. That is if they have been lucky enough to observe and spend time with purple emperors in UK.

Then of course there is the two tailed pasha in southern Europe, a species which pushes right down to the south of the African continent, and one which is particularly common here on the farm.

It was probably this butterfly that first captured my imagination here on the farm, because I was familiar with the two tailed pasha from a book I had in the UK at the age of about ten. When I first saw a Charaxes jasius saturnus flying powerfully around the garden I was completely transfixed. This particularly specimen and some of his colleagues were repeatedly settling on the dead twigs of a pride of India bush and so it was easy to get a good look at the fantastic patterns covering the underside of the wings.

The koppie( meaning -small hill) Charaxes or foxy Charaxes is sometimes referred to as an emperor, like all the charaxes, although I'll stick with the name Charaxes because I see no need for a change.
It's name of 'koppie' Charaxes refers to it's normal habit of 'hilltopping'. Go to the top of any hill or mountain on the farm around midday, and it is almost guaranteed a couple of foxy Charaxes will have already set up their territories, and will avidly be defending these areas from other Charaxes and actually any flying creatures, including sometimes small birds.



The foxy Charaxes will return again and again to the same tree and often the same perch and so will provide an easy chance of a photo.
The dog fights with fellow Charaxes can be vicious and often the sound of wing clicks accompanies the aerial acrobatics. Come mid afternoon the butterflies slowly disperse and return to their territories on the flatter land below.


Pretty much any species of Charaxes can turn up anywhere on the farm at any time. They are such powerful and fast flyers that it seems no problem for them to explore every possible area. They do however, like the purple emperor, have a few other regular habits, making them easy to track down and photograph.
Any carnivore scat is a magnet for Charaxes. Leopard or hyena is the best and find this and a good group of feeding Charaxes is guaranteed. Of course finding this can't always be relied on so sometimes a stash should be kept in the fridge to be used at key times when a particular species is seen patrolling or if a rare species is seen passing by. Quiet likely they will be attracted if the
Magic scat is quickly put in a suitable place.
Most Charaxes spp. will also be found feeding readily on sap flows, particularly on a few tree species. They seem to love leadwood (Combretum imberbe) and large fruited bush willow (Combretum zeyheri) and often three or four species can be seen on one sap flow, often in the company of various fruit chafer beetles. The second most common Charaxes species on the farm is the Charaxes achemenes or bushveld charaxes, which can also be seen, like the koppie Charaxes every day and all year long.
The males of this species are very common and share similar habits to C. jasius saturnus, but the females are extremely rare. Interestingly the upper side of the female achemenes closely resembles C. jasius saturnus but the underside gives her away, being a simar grey patternation of the male.


Male Charaxes achemenes/bushveld charaxes.
Female Charaxes achemenes/ bushveld charaxes.

I think my favourite Charaxes comes next - the Green veined Charaxes or Charaxes candiope. This butterfly is an incredibly powerful flyer and moves slightly differently to the two previously mentioned species. Once familiar with its flying style then it can be recognised from a long distance away. It's less of a frequent hilltopper as the first two but can still often be found patrolling at the top of the high ground. Also fond of tree sap and carnivore scat it can also often be approached easily for photos while it's feeding. I forgot to mention, for most of the Charaxes spp. found on the farm, when conditions are right they will also be found mud puddling at any suitable damp spots.
The green veined Charaxes flies fast and directly, circling potentially interesting spots a few times, before coming in for a closer look. The wing beats are rapid with a pause and glide every second or two while flashes of gold and orange announce the approach of this fabulous insect.

One of the hot spots to see the first three Charaxes I've mentioned is just next to the house in my vegetable patch. Because I water the plants most days this area is a magnet to butterflies and particularly Charaxes. Just outside is a leadwood tree with a strong sap flow and I've noticed many Charaxes head here after taking some mineral salts from the wet earth in the veg patch.

TBC.

Regards, Scott

Fabulous - looking forward to more.

Fabulous stuff, we've got more snow predicted next week so this diary is particularly well timed

Unfortunately I don't have much time today, but thought to post a few landscape and other photos of the farm to give readers a bit of an impression of where the butterflies I post are living. These are taken at various times of the year - when the bush is green then it's spring or summer (october - march) and as the bush dries out it's coming into autumn and winter (april-september) The house is at the left of the tight valley, but cant be seen in this photo.
late afternoon looking east across the farm
midday looking north towards Botswana
looking north over the farm around april/may

looking west -the old airstrip is just visible as a light line in the centre of the picture
walking through grasslands to the highest peak. This a good area for Patricia blues - Lepidochrysops patricia and Yellow zulus- Alaena amazoula.
A rocky escarpment near the house particularly good for hairstreaks, fig tree blues and a route for butterflies when the annual migration is happening.
The old farm house my grandfather built around 70 years ago. This is early spring when the Jacaranda trees are flowering, but this year they flowered a little later around December. When in flower, during the day there is a constant buzz of honey bees, and then towards dusk the moths take over harvesting the rich nectar. Just before dark, when all is quiet a noise can be heard almost like the drone of a large and distant busy road, but its actually made by hundreds and hundreds of hawk moths - mainly convulvulous, silver stripped, nephele commas, mulberry hawks and others buzzing at the flowers. After dark shining a bright torch to the top of the trees sets hundreds of orange eyes aglow and is something quite spectacular to see. If you are there before dark most days a little sparrow hawk takes advantage of this gathering and can be seen zipping about the high branches catching hawkmoth after hawkmoth.

It looks absolutely fantastic country and I look forward to seeing more of the butterflies living there.

Guy

Good morning,

Back to the Charaxes – the next of these beautiful butterflies one is likely to see here on the farm is the Pearl spotted Charaxes – Charaxes jahlusa. This smaller sized member of the family is bright orange, double tailed (males have slightly shorter tails than the female) and like the previous species shares many of the same habits of its relatives. There are three races in South Africa and the most likely to occur here is Charaxes jahlusa rex. I suspect there is an overlap between Charaxes j. rex and Charaxes j. argynnides but I won't cover this too much just yet.
Although it can be seen throughout the year, during the peak times which are the first and second summer broods, many individuals may be seen in a day. The name pearl spotted comes from the colouring of the underside of the hind wing – a soft pearl running into chestnut brown, oranges and blues towards the margins. The underside of the forewing in fresh specimens is predominantly a vivid salmon pink and truly striking. Underside colouring varies a lot for specimens found here on the farm and at the moment I'm trying to build up enough images to make useful comparisons. Pearl spotted Charaxes underside with Hintza blue/pierrot Zintha hintza hintza
Pearl spotted Charaxes underside
Pearl spotted Charaxes and Diadem Hypolimnas misippus
pearl spotted Charaxes underside.

The next two Charaxes species are part of the 'black Charaxes complex'. There seems to be two species of these striking butterflies occurring on the farm. The first is Dusky/demon Charaxes - Charaxes phaeus and Charaxes vansoni - Van son's charaxes.

The males of both species are jet black and particularly striking when freshly emerged. They are however difficult to tell part! One of the diagnostic features are the spots torwards the top of upperside of the forewing - being more blue on Van son's Charaxes compared to the Dusky's whiter spots but again i'll not get too dep into ths now. The females are far easier to tell apart, with the Dusky Charaxes being a beautiful chalky blue compared to the Van son's having a number of white bars covering the upper wings.
Charaxes Phaeus male Charaxes phaeus male
Charaxes Phaeus female
Charaxes phaeus male
Van son's Charaxes female

The next Charaxes to be seen on the farm is one of the rarest and also could be considered the most beautiful depending on personal opinion. Charaxes varanes or Pearl Charaxes is a butterfly of thick and deep forests and will usually only be spotted here in the moist valleys where vegetation is thick and where the food plants can be found. Its a rare sight to see one of these butterflies and so far this season (2022/2023) I haven't been lucky enough to lay eyes on one. The underside is cryptic brown and no two individuals have the same markings - upper wings are pearl in the centre surrounded by orange/brown margins.
Charaxes Varanes
Charaxes Varanes - upper side - the only photo I've managed so far of the upperside! It's a frustrating insect to get close to! fast flying and often high in trees and when it does descend it usually is to faeces and then has its wings closed.


The last Charaxes to be regularly seen on the farm is the Club-tailed Charaxes - Charaxes zoolina, which is another smaller species. Interestingly this butterfly, which I think is unique among the family, has wet (colour light green/white) and dry season (orange/brown) forms (f. neanthes). Also the male and females differ in the number of tales - The male having one and the female two, in both cases the tips of the tails terminating with clubs. At the moment I have no photos of this butterfly - so far this season I haven't had a confirmed sighting, unlike previous years when they have been fairly numerous.

One more Charaxes might be seen here - the white barred Charaxes - Charaxes brutus natalensis. To date i've only seen one individual in January 2023, which flew fast around the garden a few times and then vanished. the next day it passed by again but unfortunately I was unable to get a photo.

A few more photos...
Charaxes varanes
Charaxes achemenes
Charaxes candiope
Charaxes candiope

Charaxes jasius

I hope all the photos add up to the names because I'm having some difficulty placing them in the correct positions. And also I apologise for any mistakes. Because I have to travel for internet time is limited and it's difficult to make sure all is perfect. Thank you to any one who has commented so far. I hope you have enjoyed the photos, and if you are in Uk at the moment it's helping ease you through the cold days!

Well Scott, there's snow forecast for this week and it's freezing so this is indeed a welcome diversion. I hope you are recovering well from your accident. I also hope you are keeping detailed records from that area as from what I've seen online there is not a great deal documented? Really enjoying your diary.

My, what a Charaxes fest you have on your doorstep, Scott. Absolutely divine.

The area surrounding your home looks totally unspoiled. How safe is it to walk through the bush there? I guess there are quite a few dangerous animals sharing that habitat?

I'm glad you are enjoying Pauline! I'm recovering pretty well thanks and have come a long way in the last week. I've been able to start walking a little again and can managed up to about a (slow) kilometre now.

Yesterday was interesting because I saw a new species for the farm. A few hundred metres above the house where the valley closes up a Mother of pearl was flying. Funnily enough the day before I had been reading about this butterfly - Protogoniomorpha parhassus aethiops and wondered if I may one day see one on the farm - unlikely because it's range is far over to the east mainly in the coastal forests. But then yesterday there it was! I first noticed it having a territorial dispute with a Green-veined charaxes, and after taking the victory, the mother of pearl returned to it's perch at the top of a sweet thorn. It stayed up here for the hour we watched with occasional short flights to chase away some intruder or other. Because of the distance, a photo was impossible but I managed a good look through the binoculars and what a beautiful butterfly it is! - when on the wing it is unmistakable due to its white and pearl colouration. I wonder how may hundreds of kilometres this individual has flown? Today I saw it again and it had staked a territory close by, this time at the top of a Tambotie tree.

I also managed a short walk down the road from the house and found a large number of Charaxes sucking on the wet cement where the farm workers had been building a new hunting hide. There were about 20 individual Charaxes in total - koppie, bushveld, pearl spotted, van son's and a single female dusky, all flitting about and imbibing salts from the cement. It was particularly interesting to watch them tussle while feeding! If a neighbour comes too close then a quick smack of the wing usually secures some personal space again!

David - Yes it is pretty unspoiled but it is pretty safe to walk here if you are aware - maybe one of the greatest dangers for a first time visitor is getting lost. It takes most visitors a good few weeks to get their bearings and some, even after couple of months still can't find their way off the farm!

The most dangerous animals here are probably the leopards (in theory), closely followed by cape buffalo - Lions and elephants, unfortunately aren't here anymore.

I'm not particularly concerned about leopards, and walk anywhere at any time of the day. I have on one occasion met a leopard and we both had an amiable few seconds looking into each others eyes. This was a female however, and I'd be a little reluctant to meet a big male. I often hear him calling just outside the house at night and his call is enough to make you take heed. But saying that, they want as little to do with humans as possible. The buffalo are mostly in large enclosures (approx 200 hectares- because of disease reasons) and only a few roam free (escapees) on the farm so again I'm not overly concerned about them. Bush pigs and honey badgers can be a bit bad tempered but the chances of meeting them are pretty slim and so you would be extremely unlucky to have a scape with them.

I would say the most dangerous animals would be snakes - the three to look out for are the black mamba, puff adder and Mozambican spitting cobra. You would have to be very unlucky to be bitten but of course it is important to be very aware. It's actually not that common to see snakes and they usually pop up when you least expect it. Occasionally they will enter the house and recently there was a large black mamba in the roof.

There are also the smaller poisonous creatures such as spiders (violin, button and sac being the main ones to look out for), scorpions (there are some very venomous spp. such as Parabuthus) and large blue centipedes that are guaranteed to scare the majority of people with their looks and also give a solid bite. Ticks can be particularly annoying and there is a fairly good chance if you aren't on top of them to get tick bite fever. But caught early medication will cure pretty fast.
Resident female leopard
Rock python
Mozambican spitting cobra large blue centipede puff adder black mamba baboon spider - can give a painful bite

puff adder - easy to step on because of camouflage but very reluctant to bite
Various scorpion species occur on the farm and close contact is best avoided
Rock pythons can get large -this is the spoor of a large specimen which is capable of eating the smaller antelope species.
Probably the most dangerous situation I have been in was when I came across these two leopard cubs. Luckily the mother wasn't close by, or she chose not to confront me.
Cape buffalo - could possibly be dangerous given the right situation
black mamba hunting squirrels in the roof.


Soon I'll start on the next section of the butterflies of the farm - Lycaenidae. South Africa has a huge variety of species from this family and here we are lucky to have some true beauties and a good number of different species. I think I'm yet to discover all that occur here so I find this family particularly interesting.

Fair play to you, Scott, for taking all these potential dangers in your stride. I suppose there's no other means to get on with things when you're sharing your 'turf' with animals that most Europeans would be extremely cautious of.

Shame the lions and elephants are no longer there. How has that happened?

This is just superb stuff Scott - a wonderful read. The idea of multiple Charaxes species on leopard scat blows my mind. Have you ever tried to track down the immature stages and observe their lifecycle or rear them in captivity?

Thanks for your reply David.
I think over time one gets used to the different possible dangers, but saying that, it still takes about a week when I arrive from UK to adjust to the changes of fauna (particularly when arriving from the colder months). I think for people who haven't experienced such a place before it could be tough to get used to it - but of course that depends on a case to case basis and maybe how open minded people are.

Most of the larger animals were hunted out a long time ago when the first white settlers arrived in the area sometime in the 1800's.
There used to be vast numbers of herbivores across South Africa but these herds were quickly reduced, and in turn the predators went too. Any animal which disturbed the livelihood of the people was 'dealt' with and lions and elephants fell into this category.

A long time before my grandparents came to live here the lions and elephants had gone and many of the grazers too - but leopards and all the more secretive night animals remained, along with the more common antelope species such as kudu and impala. After the land was divided up people who farmed these lands, usually by running cattle, saw a benefit to encouraging animals for hunting purposes but this category only included the smaller herbivores/antelope and not species which would disturb their farming activities such as elephants. Some farmers even showed disdain to any grazers apart from their cattle herds so never encouraged any native herbivores back to their land for they might eat some of the valuable grass!

But then in the last twenty or thirty years this all changed when hunting gathered in popularity and could be seen as a viable economic activity. Many land owners, my uncle included, sold all their cattle and focused in on hunting whether it be meat hunting by locals or international trophy hunting. With this increased demand came a huge increase of native animal numbers in South Africa, and some say because of this it could be seen as one of the most successful conservation success stories in recent years. This is of course a complicated story which I won't go into now, but I will say some species like the elephant, lion and rhino haven't really benefitted from this change of land use. Most farmers don't have enough space to support these animals and also don't want the added problems brought by these them - whether it's increased poaching pressure, large numbers of herbivores being eaten, fence destruction etc.

I hope one day to see all the animals which should be here make a return, but I think maybe that day is a long way off at the moment. But of course everything is possible!

Benjamin, I would love to find all the stages of each Charaxes but at the moment I haven't managed it. Although it is something which has been on my mind for the last couple of years.

I've only ever come across one larva and that was purely by accident. At the time I wasn't in a position to keep hold of it which was a great shame.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to locate some eggs or larvae. Would you be able to offer any advice?
After thinking about this problem, the only solution I can see is to find a female ovipositing.

I have a list of all the main food plants for each species but the farm is so vast and there are so many of these individual trees that I think it might be too time consuming to start searching.

I have found here that these things have a way of popping up at the right moment! Like a lot of things in life if you want it but don't pursue it too vigorously then it often presents itself.

I had this last year when the only Luna moth I've ever seen here flew into my room and then returned the next day to lay around sixty eggs, which I then raised through to adults.

I also experienced this with fig tree blues this year. I've dreamt for years of finding the larvae of this beautiful butterfly and last November I found a tree covered in them - purely by chance! Soon I'll share some photos and findings of their interesting life cycle.

Charaxes are surely next on the list and I really do look forward to raising some of these amazing butterflies. If you have time Benjamin you are welcome to come and help me find them

Interestingly enough, just now before I came to get signal a Charaxes Brutus (either the same individual I saw some weeks ago, although judging by its condition a new individual) was working its way around the house looking very much like it wanted to lay eggs. It's only the second time I've seen this species so it would be incredible if I ended up with it's eggs first before the common species!

All the best, Scott

Hello everyone,
I wanted to start covering some of the Lycaenids and will start with the Fig-tree blue. I have a particular soft spot for this butterfly and so have written a little more than I will for the other 'blues' because not only is it interesting but I also recently found it's breeding trees which I've been hoping to find for many years.
Female fig-tree blue. For some reason it seems impossible to turn this photo to the correct orientation!

The Fig-tree blue – Myrina silenus ficedula is undoubtedly one of the true gems amongst the butterflies which occur here on the farm. Iridescent blue and extremely fast flying, this tailed beauty can turn up almost anywhere at any time of the day. Often it can prove very frustrating to see - passing by at high speed leaving a shimmer and trail of blue in the observer’s eyes. Sometimes an individual may settle for a few seconds, but for no obvious reason. And just as quickly again it will power off up and over the trees, gone, never to be seen again in the same spot. There are two possibilities to track this beautiful butterfly down, for a closer look at it and to take photos. The easiest way is to meet the fig tree blue while he’s hill topping. Find the correct hilltop or ridgeline and there is a good chance these butterflies will put in an appearance around 12.00-15.00. Males will choose a tree and secure the area – patrolling and observing the surrounds from their chosen perch. Any intruders will immediately and mercilessly be chased out of the area, while a passing female, will with luck, join the male for some time if she chooses. I’ve noticed though that these trees aren’t always on top of the hill! or even on a ridge, so it pays to keep a careful eye open while walking through the bush because a suitable tree might turn up anywhere. The problem with spotting fig tree blues in this manner, although interesting in itself, is that the butterflies are often out of reach and almost impossible to photograph. A patient wait can sometimes pay off, but usually it just ends in frustration as the fig tree blue returns to its lofty perch time after time.

The second and most reliable way to see a fig-tree blue is to track down its food plant. Find the right fig tree and the butterflies will visit regularly, completely let their guard down and so then can be studied at extreme close quarters. The trick is of course finding one of these fig trees. With so many thousands of acres to cover it’s a challenge but recently I was lucky to stumble across one of their breeding trees and since have found a few more of these special trees around the farm. The first tree I found was Ficus ingens – Red-leaved fig which was growing on the ride of the mountain close to where I get phone signal (I don’t have any signal at the house so have to walk ten minutes to this spot). I had noticed a large brown and yellow chafer beetle eating the fresh red leaves on this particular fig and upon looking closer I noticed a fig-tree blue larva sitting on a leaf close by. As I searched further I found the whole tree, which is actually more like a small bush, covered in larvae, all at different stages of maturity. On the tips of the branches were many eggs (I counted around 60) and searching around the base of the tree I found four pupae hidden among the dry leaves. While I was observing all these delights two adult butterflies suddenly arrived and started to closely examine the tree. As soon as they touched down, they relaxed under the spell of their activity and it was easy to closely examine each in turn. While I observed their beauty, they themselves were closely observing branch of the tree. For about a minute at a time the females will sniff and probe the particular branch they have chosen, before fluttering onto another part of the tree to start the process again. These butterflies have a well-developed snout for this very purpose – to identify which buds are ready to burst and so in turn where to lay their eggs. From what I have seen the larvae will only feed on the new fresh soft red leaves and buds of the tree and without these available they are doomed to die. When I first found this tree there was abundance of new leaves because it was spring time and so the larvae were doing extremely well.
Eggs on Ficus ingens Later on however, around mid-summer there was a distinct shortage of new leaves. Three branch tips did have a few bursting buds and all these were covered in eggs – perhaps 40 or 50 in total, but there was no way for all these new hatchlings to survive with so little food. I’m not sure what did occur when the eggs all hatched, but suspect that mortality was high, although I cannot confirm this. I thought the new larvae might possibly wait in some safe place for better times but so far haven’t been able to observe if this does happen. More research is needed! The larvae, once the tree is located, are very easy to spot and I also wonder how many make it through to the pupal stage. I have read that many get parasitized and I can confirm this from five pupae I kept – found at the base of another tree. These were found in my Aunts garden on a very small fig growing in a plant pot. The tree had been repeatedly cut over the years and the regular new grow must have made an ideal breeding spot for fig-tree blues. Out of the five pupae three were parasitized leaving two to hatch normally. The parasitized pupae contained one large wasp grub each, and could be seen to be parasitized because of the very dark, almost black colour of the pupae compared to a lighter brown of the un-parasitised pupae. The larvae are also tended casually by ants which regularly milk the caterpillars from a special ‘milk gland’ on their back. I noticed that the first larvae I found were tended solely by a Polyrhachis sp. of ant (possibly polyrhachis schistacea – savanna spiny sugar ant), while the larvae on another tree were covered in tiny golden ants of a species I’m not familiar with.
Since locating the first breeding tree I have found perhaps ten more and now realise that these breeding sites are a lot more common than I first thought. Here on the farm we have a number of different Ficus species and it will be interesting to find whether these butterflies breed on any of the other species. Most of the different figs prefer to grow along rocky ridges and cliffs, and from previous visits to these areas I remember often seeing fig-tree blues flitting about the trees. The problem however, is accessibility is not always easy and the trees are also often large and difficult to examine. Luckily the Red-leaved fig seems to be happy growing in more accessible spots so some of the trees can be inspected more easily. I found one very picturesque spot just before I crashed my motorbike and unfortunately haven’t been able to return since. Right in the middle, up on one of the larger cliffs a small bonsai like fig grows from a crack in the rock and when I climbed to this spot it was covered with larvae. I think upon hatching these fig-tree blues will perhaps have one of the best views on the farm, and I couldn’t help imagine what it must be like for the adults to emerge in this fantastic spot and take their maiden flight. Unfortunately though, at the time my hands were busy gripping the cliff edge and I was unable to take a photo!

A stunning and fascinating species. Apart from the extravagant tails, the underside bears a striking resemblance to our own Brown Hairstreak.

Thanks for the explanation vis-a-vis the large animals, Scott. I understand now.

You are certainly blessed on the butterfly front. Reading this page is an exotica overdose!