Butterflies of South Africa's National Botanical Garderns: An illustrated checklist

2010·10 MB·English

by  Willis, Christopher & Woodhall, Steve

'Butterflies
South Africa’s
National Botanical Gardens
An illustrated
checklist
16
South Africa’s
National Botanical Gardens
www.sanbi.org
national
biodiversity
institute
Lowveld NBG,^
Nelspruit
SANBI Biodiversity Series 16
Butterflies
of
South Africa’s National
Botanical Gardens
An illustrated checklist
compiled by
Christopher K. Willis & Steve E. Woodhall
Pretoria
2010
SANBI Biodiversity Series
TheSouthAfrican National BiodiversityInstitute (SANBI)wasestablished on 1 Sep-
tember2004throughthesigning intoforceofthe National Environmental Manage-
ment: BiodiversityAct(NEMBA) No. 10of2004 byPresidentThaboMbeki.TheAct
expandsthe mandateoftheformerNational Botanical Instituteto includeresponsibili-
ties relatingtothefull diversityofSouthAfrica'sfauna andflora, and buildsonthe
internationallyrespected programmesin conservation, research,education andvisitor
servicesdeveloped bythe National Botanical Instituteand its predecessorsoverthe
pastcentury.
Thevision ofSANBI: Biodiversityrichnessforall SouthAfricans.
SANBI'smission istochampiontheexploration,conservation, sustainable use, appre-
ciation and enjoymentofSouthAfrica'sexceptionallyrich biodiversityforall people.
SANBI BiodiversitySeries publishesoccasional reportson projects,technologies,work-
shops, symposia and otheractivities initiated byorexecuted in partnershipwith SANBI.
Photographs: SteveWoodhall, unlessotherwise noted
Technical editing: Emsiedu Plessis
Design & layout: SandraTurck
Coverdesign: Sandra Turck
Coverphotographs:
Front: Pirate (ChristopherWillis)
Back,top: African LeafCommodore (ChristopherWillis)
Back, centre: Dotted Blue (SteveWoodhall)
Back, bottom: Green-veined Charaxes (ChristopherWillis)
Citing this publication
WILLIS, C.K. &WOODHALL, S.E. (Compilers) 2010. Butterflies ofSouth
Africa's Notional Botanical Gardens. SANBI BiodiversitySeries 16. South
African National BiodiversityInstitute, Pretoria.
ISBN 978-1-919976-57-0
© Published by: SouthAfrican National BiodiversityInstitute.
Obtainablefrom: SANBI Bookshop, Private BagXI01, Pretoria, 0001 SouthAfrica.
Tel.: [phone]. E-mail: [email protected]: www.sanbi.org.
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CONTENTS
Acknowledgements
iv
Lepidopterists’ SocietyofAfrica iv
Introduction 1
Pioneers ofbutterflyexploration in SouthAfrica 4
Howto usethe Checklist 6
Conservation status 7
New records 7
National Botanical Gardens 7
Mostwidespread butterflies recorded in SouthAfrica’s
National Botanical Gardens 8
Alphabetical quick indexto common names 9
Checklistofbutterflies 15
Glossary 220
References and further reading 222
Indices 224
Acknowledgements
We thankthefollowing people and
organisations:Andre Oberholzerand
Celia Bayley ofSappi forthe generous
sponsorship received for making the
printing ofthis publication possible;
SANBI’s Graphics Design Team for putting
this publication togetherand facilitating the
printing process; Hamish Robertson (Iziko SouthAfrican
Museum)for providing thefirstauthorwith accessto lepidopteran
literature; Silvia Mecenero, Project Co-ordinatorofthe SABCA Project,
forsupplying butterfly information extracted from SABCA’s Virtual
Museum; and Bennie CoetzerofLepSocfor providing assistance with
selectedAfrikaans common names.
This consolidated checklistwould not have been possible without
accesstothe published and unpublished results ofpast surveys
conducted in various Gardens by members ofLepSoc, as well as
university students and amateur naturalists over many years. Their
contributionstowards a greater understanding ofthe biodiversity within
SouthAfrica’s National Botanical Gardens are sincerely appreciated.
Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa
The Lepidopterists’ Society ofSouthernAfrica (LepSoc)was established
asthe Lepidoptera Study Group ofSouthernAfrica in 1983. It is
an organisation notforgain, butto promote both professional and
amateur lepidopterists’ interest, with the main objective ofsignificantly
contributing to the overall knowledge ofthe diversity, taxonomy, habitats,
distribution and life cycles ofthis fascinating group ofinsects.
LepSoc has its ownjournal, Metamorphosis, and the Society has
published orassisted in the publication ofmany books and papers on
African lepidoptera. Examples arethe SouthAfrican RedData Book—:
butterflies (Henning etal. 2009), the SouthAfrican RedData Book
butterflies (Henning & Henning 1989), and A Practical Guide to
ButterfliesandMoths in 1992.
During the 1990s, the focus ofLepSoc shifted from providing a
communication medium forspecialists and collectors to becoming a
truly conservation-focused organisation. Memberswere instrumental in
creating three reserves to protectendangered butterflies. Asfar back as
1985, the Ruimsig Entomological Reserve in Roodepoort, close to the
Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, was setaside to conserve the
Roodepoort CopperAloeidesdentatisdentatis. Then therewas
IV
the battle to preserve the last colony ofthe
Brenton Blue Orachrysopsniobe. The Brenton
Blue Butterfly Reserve is nowa Special
Nature Reserve, underthe management
ofCapeNature. In 1998, memberswere
pivotal in identifying a strong population of
the Heidelberg Copper Chrysoritis aureus
attheAlice Glockner Nature Reserve near
Heidelberg, Gauteng. This helped to remove
a threat hanging overthis reserve, proclaimed
in 1973, ofbeing de-proclaimed forlow-cost
housing.
One ofthe most significant developments that
have taken the Societytowhere it is today has
been the database collating system Lepidops, and the
database itself, Lepibase. Conceived in 1998, it now has
tens ofthousands ofdata and isthe prime vehicle for
members to record theirobservations and collections.
The main project in which the Society is currently
involved, isthe SouthernAfrican Butterfly Conservation
Assessment (SABCA), in collaboration with SANBI and
theAnimal Demography Unit atthe University ofCape
Town. The project, started in May 2007, is aimed at
determining the distribution and conservation priorities of
all butterfly species in southernAfrica (SouthAfrica,
Lesotho and Swaziland), especially those threatened with
extinction. Realising thatthe scope ofthe projectwas so
large thatthe small band oflepidopterists in the
Society could not possibly hopeto provide all the data
required, SABCAprovided for public participation in the form of
a Virtual Museum.
One ofthe main priorities ofLepSoc isto make iteasierfor
people to become a memberand learn more about butterflies. The
LepSocwebsite (www.lepsoc.org.za) has been upgraded to allow
electronic subscriptions. The Newsletterwill become an electronic
newspaper informing members astowhat has been happening in the
—
world ofAfrican Lepidoptera and whatevents are planned in the near
future. Metamorphosiswill continue to be the Society’sjournal in which
articles ofboth scientificand general interestare published, but LepSoc
will introduce anotherform ofmembership, totallyelectronic, based on
the periodical electronic newsletter. Thefocus on education and data
collection will continue and more eventswill take place.
v
Biodiversity richness benefiting all South Africans
Figure1. MapshowingthegeographicalspreadofSouthAfrica’sNationalBotanical
Gardens(seealsowww.sanbi.org). MapdrawnbyLinetteFerreira.
VI
SANBI Biodiversity Series 16 [2010] 1
Introduction
Butterflies have formed one ofthe more visible, but not always noticed
components ofthe biodiversityofSouthAfrica’s National Botanical
Gardens (NBGs) since Kirstenbosch was established in 1913. With the
transition ofthe National Botanical Institute (NBI) tothe SouthAfrican
National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in September2004, the mandate
ofthe organisation expanded from its main focus on plantsto include all
aspects ofbiological diversity.
Sofar205 butterflytaxa have been recorded in the nine National
Botanical Gardens combined, with more butterflies recorded in the
Gardens in the northern (Gauteng) and eastern (Mpumalanga and
KwaZulu-Natal) parts ofSouthAfrica than those in the Free State,
Northern Cape and Western Cape (Table 1). This represents 26% of
SouthAfrica's 801 known butterflytaxa (Henning etal. 2009). This is a
remarkable statisticconsidering thatthe surface area ofSouthAfrica’s
nine National Botanical Gardens combined (7 738 ha or77.38 km2
)
comprises only 0.006% ofthe country’s total surface area (1 214 099
km2). While 122 (29%) ofthe420 butterflytaxa ofKwaZulu-Natal have
sofarbeen recorded within the KwaZulu-Natal National Botanical
Garden’s (Pietermaritzburg)47 ha (0.47 km2 surface area, this
)
comprises a disproportionate 0.0005% ofthe 92 100 km2total surface
area ofthe province.
Butterflies are probablythe most popularorderofinsects among
the general public and serve as importantflagships forthe public’s
perception ofinvertebrate conservation.Additionally, many butterflies
are threatened owing largelyto habitat loss and modification. Botanical
gardens have an important local conservation valuefor butterflies and
otherinsects. Indeed, they often have more insects than surrounding
indigenous vegetation because oftheirplantdiversity. The wide variety
ofindigenous plants in SouthAfrica’s National Botanical Gardens
(classified as ‘conservation gardens’ becausethey all contain areas of
natural vegetation in addition totheircultivated collections) provides
both food and shelterfor insects, including butterflies.Availability of
adult nectarsources is an importantfactor in determining butterfly
numbers, with habitat selection often based on nectarsources in
preference to larval food plants. Design features mostvaluable in
attracting butterflies are abundant nectarsources, preferably in
sheltered, sunny situations.
Although our knowledge ofthe Gardens’ faunal diversity is still at an
embryonic stage, SouthAfrica’s National Botanical Gardens have,
2 SANBI Biodiversity Series 16 [20IQ]
National O00 299 63 205 26
7 4
provincial/national 20 10 36 41 13 15
Cape Porter: Desert:
Porter: Desert:
279 103 20 Combined: Combined:
Kirstenbosch: Kirstenbosch:
and Western Harold Karoo Harold Karoo
Gardens
o
Northern Cape 194 29 CM o>
Botanical
National 374 C\J - 85 23
Mpumalanga
Africa's Provinces
South KwaZulu- Natal 420 G) O 122 29
in
recorded 54 85 96 25 40 45
- Pretoria: Sisulu: Pretoria: Sisulu:
CD Combined: Combined:
butterflies Gauteng 212
Walter Walter
between
o
CD N-
Free State 173 (2009)
at.
Comparison et
statistics
of taxa* taxa* or of taxa in in
1. List butterfly per Henning
Table butterfly Number butterfly Exclusive endemic Red threatened taxa* Number butterflyrecorded NBGs % taxa provincerecorded NBGs after