Painted Lady Butterfly

Vanessa cardui

The Painted Lady is the most widespread butterfly in the world, being found on every continent except South America and Antarctica. There isn’t a corner of South Africa where they do not occur and they inhabit every habitat, from desert to forests, including parks and gardens.

Adults have a wingspan of between 4 and 5cm, with females being slightly larger than males. The males are territorial and defend small areas of bare ground as their patch. They can fly rapidly but often only glide close to the ground, flapping their wings only occasionally, and settling often with wings spread out. These butterflies have a habit of swarming and migrating in various parts of their cosmopolitan range, also here in South Africa. Painted Ladies can be seen year round, being most numerous in spring and autumn. The larvae are raised on a wide variety of food plants.

Painted Lady

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted lady

Painted Lady Butterfly

Yellow-breasted Apalis

16 Replies

Apalis flavida

The Yellow-breasted Apalis is a bird of forest and mature woodland habitats with a patchy distribution over sub-Saharan Africa. In South Africa they occur from the Eastern Cape through Kwazulu-Natal and into Mpumalanga and Limpopo. The IUCN considers the species to be of least concern.

A shy insectivorous bird, the Yellow-breasted Apalis is usually seen in pairs or small family groups, and even as part of mixed-species flocks known as “bird parties” moving through the tree canopy, gleaning invertebrates from leaves and twigs.

During the breeding season, which spans spring and summer, both members of the monogamous pair work to construct the ball-shaped nest (with a side entrance) in a tree or shrub using fine plant material and lichens. Clutches of 2 or 3 eggs are incubated over a two week period, with both parents taking turns on the eggs. The chicks leave the nest before they’re 3 weeks old. Fully grown they weigh only about 8g and measure about 12cm in length.

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Marula

19 Replies

Sclerocarya birrea

One of Africa’s most iconic trees, the Marula is widespread over sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. In South Africa it is found in Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and Northwest. It grows in savanna and woodland.

The Marula is a large tree, growing up to 18m tall, with a wide spreading crown. Its fruit and leaves are popular with a very wide range of animals, from moth larvae and rodents to giraffes and elephants.

Marula fruit are edible, either fresh or made into jam. Fermented it is used to make traditional beer and Marula cream liqueur is exported the world over. The nut is used as food by itself or mixed with vegetables. In traditional medicine various parts of the Marula tree is used to treat allergies, diarrhoea, rheumatism, haemorrhoids , constipation, even gonorrhoea. The wood is good enough to manufacture furniture and floors and strong rope can be made from the inside layer of the bark.

Marula tree

Marula Tree in Pretoriuskop

Marula Tree (photograph by Joubert)

Marula tree

Zebras and marulas outside Satara

Marula tree damaged by a foraging elephant

Marula fruit

Sunrise over Imfolozi with a Marula in silhouette

Marula Tree in the first light of day

Natal Acraea Butterfly

28 Replies

Acraea natalica

The striking Natal Acraea is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of between 5 and 7cm. In South Africa it occurs commonly through all our northern and eastern provinces, where it is found in forest and savanna habitats. Like most others in the genus the Natal Acraea flies slowly and settles often on flowers, its seemingly lackadaisical attitude being a clue to the fact that it is foul tasting and avoided by predators.

Natal Acraea

Natal Acraea butterfly

Natal Acraea

Natal Acraea butterfly

Natal Acraea

Rattling Cisticola

13 Replies

Cisticola chiniana

The Rattling Cisticola occurs in savannas, especially those dominated by thorny trees and bushes, and woodland. It feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates, but have also been observed taking nectar from aloes.

Rattling Cisticolas are usually seen in monogamous pairs or family groups, and breed in spring and summer. They construct ball-shaped nests near the ground in a shrub or tuft of grass. The female takes sole responsibility for incubating the clutch of 2-5 eggs for 2 weeks, with the chicks leaving the nest about the same length of time after hatching. Adults are approximately 15cm long and weigh around 16g.

According to the IUCN the Rattling Cisticola is of least concern, and it occurs from Ethiopia southwards. In South Africa it is commonly found through most of Kwazulu-Natal, in Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng, North West, the eastern reaches of the Northern Cape and the north-western parts of the Free State, often being one of the most numerous bird species where they’re found.

Rattling Cisticola

Bushveld Gardenia

18 Replies

Gardenia volkensii

The Bushveld Gardenia is a small to medium-sized shrub or tree growing to a height of up to 10m and with its spreading branches often reaching down to the ground. The large, white flowers (older flowers turn yellow) have a sweet aroma and are carried from July to December. They open at night and are probably pollinated by moths. The leaves of the Bushveld Gardenia are browsed by a wide range of animals, including giraffes and kudus. The hard fruit ripen between December and April and are favoured by primates, antelope and elephants.

In traditional medicine the Bushveld Gardenia is used to treat intestinal parasites, while the hard wood is used for carving ornaments and utensils.

The Bushveld Gardenia grows in savanna and open woodland and in South Africa occurs through much of Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West Province.

Bushveld Gardenia

Bushveld Gardenia bark

Bushveld Gardenia leaves

Bushveld Gardenia bloom

Bushveld Gardenia fruit

Grey-backed Camaroptera

20 Replies

Camaroptera brevicaudata

Many authorities, including the IUCN and Birdlife International, consider the Grey-backed Camaroptera to be the same species as the Green-backed Camaroptera (Camaroptera brachyura), and hybrids between the two are recorded from time-to-time. In South Africa the Grey-backed Camaroptera occurs mainly in the North West Province, Gauteng and Limpopo, where it inhabits thickets and riverine vegetation in the savanna biome and feeds on a wide variety of invertebrates. These are shy birds, usually encountered singly or in pairs, that rarely ventures from low, dense vegetation.

Their nests are constructed of living leaves woven and stitched together into a ball shape low to the ground in dense foliage. The nesting season stretches through spring and summer and into early autumn, with clutches of 2-4 eggs being incubated over a two week period. The chicks leave the nest when they’re approximately two weeks old – even before they can fly. Fully grown, the Grey-backed Camaroptera weighs around 10g and measure about 12cm long.

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Grey-backed Camaroptera (photo by Joubert)

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Grey-backed Camaroptera (photo by Joubert)

Grey-backed Camaroptera

Large-leaved Rock Fig

25 Replies

Ficus abutilifolia

Seen growing on rocky outcrops and cliffs from northern Kwazulu-Natal through Mpumalanga and Limpopo to North West Province (and beyond our borders as far afield as Guinea in the west and Somalia in the north-east), the Large-leaved Rock Fig is an easily noticed and impressive tree not necessarily for its size but because it is capable of flourishing in apparently precarious locations and of splitting rocks with its roots. These trees seldom grow taller than 5m, though their roots can stretch up to 60m deep!

In keeping with many other kinds of fig, the Large-leaved Rock Fig is pollinated by wasps. Ripe fruit are much sought after by frugivorous birds, bats and primates (humans included!), and antelope and wild pigs are very fond of figs that have fallen to the ground. Though their use in a garden is limited due to the strong and expansive roots, these trees work excellently as bonsai.

Large-leaved Rock Fig

A small Large-leaved Rock Fig getting a grip on its rocky substrate

Large-leaved Rock Fig

A yellow-spotted Rock Hyrax hiding in a crevice secured by the roots of a Large-leaved Rock Fig

Large-leaved Rock Fig

Large-leaved Rock Fig roots and trunk

Large-leaved Rock Fig roots

Large-leaved Rock Fig roots and branches

Large-leaved Rock Fig

Large-leaved Rock Fig leaves

Large-leaved Rock Figs

Large-leaved Rock Fig

Large-leaved Rock Fig supporting a boulders

Large-leaved Rock Fig

Large-leaved Rock Figs

Meves’s Starling

22 Replies

Lamprotornis mevesii

A bird of riverine forests and floodplains with mature woodland, the Meves’s Starling (or Longtailed Starling) subsists on a diet of insects, fruits and flowers, foraged mostly on the ground. Adults measure approximately 34cm long, including the very long tail, and weigh around 75g.

These striking birds breed in spring and summer, building their nests inside cavities in trees – often using the same nest in successive years. The female takes sole responsibility for incubating the clutch of 3-5 eggs, which usually takes just short of 3 weeks, but both parents are involved in rearing the chicks, which fledge when they’re about 3 weeks old.

Meves’s Starling has a limited distribution in southern Africa – from Zambia and Malawi south to the Limpopo Valley on the border of South Africa with Botswana and Zimbabwe, meaning that the Mapungubwe National Park and the Pafuri region of the Kruger National Park is the most accessible locations in our country to go looking for them. The IUCN lists this species as being of least concern.

Meves’s Starling

Meves’s Starling (photo by Joubert)

Meves’s Starling

Black-faced Waxbill

14 Replies

Estrilda erythronotos

The Black-faced Waxbill is a tiny finch (12cm in length and weighing only about 10g), living in dry, thorny savannas with ready access to reliable waterholes and perennial streams. They feed mainly on seeds, supplementing their dietary intake with small invertebrates, berries, flowers and nectar.

Black-faced Waxbills are usually seen in pairs or small groups. During the breeding season, which peaks in late summer, pairs hold small territories and build together at the ball-shaped grass-nest, which has a long entrance tunnel at the bottom, well hidden in the tops of thorny trees. Both parents incubate the clutch of 2-6 eggs, which hatch within two weeks. The chicks leave the nest when they’re about 3 weeks old and stay with their parents for another two weeks or so before becoming fully independent.

The Black-faced Waxbill occurs in two separate parts of Africa, the one in East Africa stretching from Tanzania to Somalia and the other in Southern Africa (mainly South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe extending marginally into Zambia and Angola). In our country specifically they are commonly found in the western half of Limpopo, the North West Province, Gauteng, the northwestern Free State and eastern reaches of the Northern Cape. The IUCN considers the Black-faced Waxbill to be of least concern.