...and they were Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui).
They were all small, fluttering around on a big bush with yellow flowers, that looks like some kind of daisy flowers.
I suppose recently born, and I have never seen so many painted ladies together. Another thing that I didn't know was that painted lady butterflies are migratory. Apparently, they migrate all over the continent and have a look at this below.
V. cardui is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. In Australia, V. cardui has a limited range around Bunbury, Fremantle, and Rottnest Island. However, its close relative, the Australian painted lady (V. kershawi, sometimes considered a subspecies) ranges over half the continent. Other closely related species are the American painted lady (V. virginiensis) and the West Coast lady (V. annabella).
I found them in this bush, and I suppose that the eggs were laid in the bush.
V. cardui occurs in any temperate zone, including mountains in the tropics. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. It migrates from North Africa and the Mediterranean to Britain and Europe in May and June, occasionally reaching Iceland,[11] and from the Red Sea basin, via Israel and Cyprus, to Turkey in March and April. The occasional autumn migration made by V. cardui is likely for the inspection of resource changes; it consists of a round trip from Europe to Africa.
I was happy to get this one below in flight, as they are very difficult to get flying around.
All of them sucking nectar from the flowers, and obviously they were born near a food source.
Sadly, this little one had damaged wings, and I don't think that it will last long.
What I did notice in the source link, is that although they appear in many countries, South Africa is not mentioned. Australia, though, is mentioned and it is just across the pond from us. The butterflies breed in warm countries, and North Africa is mentioned, but again nothing is said about them being born or migrating from South Africa. Our butterfly book mentions that they start to appear here in the spring season, but we are now close to the winter season and here's a heap of newborns. Confusing, isn't it?
Such is butterfly life.
I hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.
Photos by Zac Smith. All-Rights-Reserved.
Camera: Canon PowershotSX70HS Bridge camera.
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