South African Garden and Home – September 2019

90 SEPTEMBER 2019 | gardenandhome.co.za

ATTRACTING BUTTERFLIES

TEXT AND PHOTOGRAPHS

A LIZETTE JONKER

lthough they’re often

thought of as pretty little

jewels flitting around the

garden, butterflies play an

important role as pollinators. The only

pollinator of the endangered red disa

in the Western Cape is the mountain

pride butterfly, without which, the disa

would die out.

Unfortunately, as a result of urban

Butterflies bring life, colourand

movement to a garden.Follow

these six steps to attractthem

and ensure that they return

Butterfly

heaven

development, many natural butterfly

habitats have disappeared. Of South

Africa’s 801 butterfly species, the South

African National Biodiversity Institute

(SANBI) has identified 205 species in

the nine national botanical gardens.

The following were found in more

than half the botanical gardens and

these could possibly visit suburban

gardens: African monarch, brown-

veined white, bush bronze, citrus

swallowtail, common diadem, common

dotted border, painted lady, garden

acraea, African clouded yellow, African

grass blue, African migrant, common

Hottentot, common zebra blue,

geranium bronze, meadow white, pea

blue and yellow pansy. There might also

be other butterflies endemic to your area

that are not included here.

African leopard butterfly on a

pink coneflower (echinacea).

An African monarch

on ‘Margaret

Roberts’ lavender.

Twin dotted border on

‘Margaret Roberts’ lavender.