One of our most beautiful species, African Blue Pansy (Junonia orithya madagascariensis). It’s fairly common and widespread within the eastern half of South Africa.
Every year, members of the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa (Lepsoc) conduct field trips on Mountainlands. This is to gather information on the butterfly species that occur here. Specific attention is paid to red data species, their habitat and potential threats.
Three endemic butterflies of which some are found in very small areas on the reserve are always of special interest. These are Aloeides barbarae, Lepidochrysops swanepoeli and Lepidochrysops jefferyi. Therefore the monitoring of these species and the protection of their “hotspots” is of paramount importance.
From left: Lourens Erasmus, chairperson of the the Highveld branch of Lepsoc , Jeremy Dobson, chairperson of the Lepidopterist Society of Africa (Lepsoc) and Malcolm Bain, Manager of Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency’s Sterkspruit Nature Reserve did the October survey.
The butterfly specialists also add any new species to their observations. In 2004 the Mountainlands check list consisted of 68 names and the October 2022 submission included 107 names. “There are currently 668 South African butterfly species, so Mountainlands holds about 16 % of these, “said Jeremy Dobson, chairperson of Lepsoc who was part of the team who surveyed in October. Only certain parts of the reserve have been surveyed to date. We are confident that with more footwork, Lepsoc members will be able take the number up to about 150 species (over 22.5% of the SA list).
The latest checklist can be downloaded by clicking on the link below.
Mountainlands Butterfly Checklist J Dobson et al – Dec 2022.