COMMONLY mistaken for moths, Black-Haired Bush Brown Butterflies are not active at night. They are also known as the Common Bush Brown or Bicyclus safitza.
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These butterflies are often seen sunning, with wings closed, in a puddle of sun. They are frequently spotted in the Durban area where they are often found in parks and gardens. Common Bush Brown Butterflies favour living in the shade of trees and fly low to the ground in short, hopping bursts.
Two or three or even more individuals can sometimes be seen flying around in circles together.
These butterflies like to feed on fermenting fruit and sucking up nutrients around a mud puddle. Nature enthusiast Warren Dick has been fortunate enough to collect eggs from the Common Bush Brown Butterfly in his garden on The Bluff and raised them to adulthood.
Their larvae feed on various types of grass, making them easy to care for. The larvae are brown in colour with short hairs and grow to about 3cm in length before pupating. The adult butterflies measure around 4–5cm in length.
Contact Warren to have some of your interesting spiders, snakes or other wildlife identified. Call or WhatsApp him on 072 211 0353, or visit his Facebook page, Warren’s Small World.
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