SANParks.org Forums

Hi

I agree its simmilar to Roseate - the color seems different - Roseate larvae - Cream with black stripes where this one is yellow - But the patterns looks simmilar.

Region does'nt match either...

Thanx for the input... Back to the search again..

Cheers NiQ

Oh ... my kingdom for a "complete" insect book ...

Some help Id'ing this one would be most helpful, it looks very similar to the fynbos blue butterfly but as it was seen in rietvlei nature reserve the location is nowhere near correct.

Could somebody please tell me the name of this butterfly, seen in St. Lucia/KwaZuluNatal? Thanks in advance

Flying cheetah: It's a novice / outannie / Amauris ochlea. They can be very common in St.Lucia and in most of the forested areas in the eastern areas of SA.

Oddesy: It's a cuprous blue / koperbloutjie / Eicochrysops messapus mahallakoaena (what a name ). They are quite common in grasslands everywhere from the Cape (where they do not have the copper colour) to Gauteng and further north. An I have to congratulate you on that photo...WOW

Nickie: The moth you photographed is a marbled emperor moth / Heniocha apollonia, but the larvae you photographed is definitely not a Roseate emperor (Eochroa trimeni) larva. I am not 100% sure what it is, but I don't think it is an emperor moth larva.

Hope this helps!

Thank you BushSnake that was really quick

All these were seen at Sobhengu Lodge on Lake St Lucia - is the ID correct please?

Brown Commodore?



Orange-tip?



Mocker swallowtail?

The first one is a Pearl Emperor / Pereldubbelstert / Charaxes varanes, the second on is a smoky orange tip / Colotis euippe and the last one you had correct as a male mocker swallowtail. The tips can be quite tricky but once you get the hang of it it will become a bit easier!

Thanx BushSnake! .

Butterflies are really tricky to identify

This time I won't even try - please help!

All seen at Marakele National Park. Previous ones also.







Thanx!

If you don't have a go at it yourself, you'll never learn them. I'd love to meet the person who has never made a mistake when identifying something... So this is the last time I'll help you if you don't try yourself It may help to know that we have to id photos on the SABCA virtual museum, and on many occasions have the experts disagreed over identifications of really common butterflies

That first butterfly is a Dark commodore / Precis antilope. They are relatively common in that area, but it is still a buttefly that very few people here would have seen so it's a good record!

After that you have broad-bordered grassveld yellows / Eurema brigitta males sitting at mud, and then there is a single foxy emperor / koppie-emperor / koppie-dubbelstert / Charaxes jasius with 3 male bushveld emperors / bosvelddubbelstert / Charaxes achaemenes sitting on dung of some sorts. That is followed by what looks like a male red tip / rooipuntjie / Colotis antevippe, but I'm not 100% sure about that one as you normally use the uppersides to id the tips.

That last 3 photos is of a spotted Joker / Tolliegrasvegter / Byblia illithya.

BTW - please send all your records, but especially the darker commodore record in to the SABCA virtual museum (http://sabca.adu.org.za)

Thanx again, Bush Snake!

And I thought all the butterflies were the same in the 3rd pic!

Hi BushSnake,

Thanks for your help and info. It is much appreciated.

Is there a website where one can get info on moths?

Not really. You can send your records in to the butterfly atlas project's virtual museum (SABCA - http://sabca.adu.org.za), but there they will only be identified. There aren't any really good books available on moths, but there are people working on an electronic book...

In the mean time, if you want information, you can PM me and I'll put you in contact with some of the moth experts, but it depends in which family you are interested in. For these emperor moths, you may actually find something interesting in the insect field guides, or I can try and arrange a copy of a book Emperor moths of Namibia (author R.Oberprieler) for you. It covers most of the common moths found in SA as well.