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Ja, it's a bit obsessive I guess Now I'll need to be adding to my collection of RSA field guides!

Yesterday, 30 June 2011 I found this butterfly in my garden - Pretoria east near the Botanical Gardens. It kept on coming back to our paw-paw tree but did not sit on it. I was able to take this photo of a butterfly that I have not seen before. What I would like to know is it a common type for ths area?

Hi Bobbi,I'm no expert but according to my books it looks to be a Garden Inspector, also known as a Garden Commodore,Precis archesia.Distribution listed as savanna,grassland and forests from western Cape,knysna area,to eastern Cape,KwaZulu-Natal,Free State,Gauteng,Mpumalanga,Limpopo and NW
provinces.Apparently common in gardens.
Hope this helps and if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will come up with the right answer.

Take care wherever you are.

PF.

Thanks PF,

Thanks to Google I could ID it indeed as a Precis archesia. The source did not give it's common name.
I see that there are a wet season "dress" and a dry season "dress". They look totally different in the summer months and the winter months! Interesting.

Greetings

Bbi

Here's another butterfly that I need ID help with. Seen in my garden in Darling in October 2011.

I believe that might be Tarsocera cassina; common name: sand-dune widow; and a member of the Satyrinae. Migdoll's field guide says it "has an unusual haunt in the sandy coastal strandveld of the south-western Cape lowlands….It is on the wing from October to early December….Recorded localities…extend from Malmesbury and Darling south-eastwards to the Bredasdorp district."

It seems it's found in just a few months, and in a relatively small area, so well spotted, arks.

WoW! Thanks, Africat, that's fascinating. (I really must get a butterfly field guide one day )

You're welcome, arks. You could get a field guide, or just continue to post inquiries here, and let us fanatics learn along with you.

(after all, I did say 'one day' ... )

I found that I took some far better pix of the sand-dune widow a few days later, so here are a couple Again, seen in my garden in Darling.

Here's yet another butterfly that I need ID help for. Again seen in my garden in Darling in October 2011.

Anyone???

Can anyone tell me what the lovely brown-veined white butterflies and the green ones are that you see en masse in the Kgalagadi in the rainy season? You usually see them in great groups, sipping at water puddles in the road. I think the white ones are 'caper white' or 'pioneer white' or 'brown-veined white', which all seem to be alternate common names for Belenois aurota. But I haven't been able to identify the pale green pearlescent ones you often see with them. Anyone?

I have a photo I could provide for confirmation, but I don't know how to copy it here.

Annie, here's a quick link to our website where we answer the question regarding the brown-veined white migrations. The other species with the pearly green underside is the African migrant / Afrikaanse swerwer / Catopsilia florella. They are not as well known for their migrations as the brown-veined white, but in general they can also travel pretty large distances and often congregate around mud with the other white butterflies. Also have a look at the following: http://www.lepsoc.org.za/general/faqs.html

Arks, the little blue butterfly is a sooty blue (Zizeeria knysna). They can be pretty common, but also easily confused with other small butterflies such as the Gaika blue and Clover blue. Even though the identificafion for the widow is possibly correct, be carefull as there are 5/6 species in the genus (group), and some of them can only be told apart by dissecting them

Thanks so much for the ID on the sooty blue, BushSnake and for the very interesting additional info about the widows