Have you spotted a Blue pansy butterfly?
The butterflies lay their eggs on Asystasia gangetica micrantha
By Warren Dick
THE blue pansy butterfly is one of the most common butterfly species to visit gardens in the Durban area.
They can easily be identified by the big blue spot on their sleek, black wings with white marks at the ends, with two small eye spots at the end of each wing.
These butterflies generally fly low to the ground and are attracted by a variety of flowering plants. They lay their eggs on Asystasia gangetica micrantha, which are also called Chinese violet. The caterpillar feeds on this plant until it is time to pupate.
I always try to keep a small patch of this Chinese violet in my garden to attract these and other beautiful butterflies.
If you would like to make contact with me to have some of your interesting insects, snakes or spiders identified, send me a Whatsapp or call 072-211-0353.
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