Pinacopteryx eriphia

The Zebra White.
It is over a year now since we have moved home to Golden Pond in Hilton, no more than 9 km NW as the crow flies from our previous home, but 400 m higher in altitude. The butterfly population here is a bit different.
Anyway, a few days ago I found this butterfly at the edge of the pond. Not the most flattering photograph of an older specimen, but, despite being quite common, and widely distributed, it is my first, and so is special. As it left before I could get a picture of the upperside, I thought of Annie Dillard stalking her muskrats.
The genus is monotypic, being established by Wallengren from Pieris eriphia Godart as the TS.

Dixeia pigea

The Small Ant-heap White.
There are a few introduced exotic plants at Cumberland. One of these is Achillea millefolium, (the Yarrow, Milfoil or Duisendblaar.) On a hot midsummer day a plethora of this butterfly could be found nectaring on these flowers. The top two photographs are of a female, with its mostly yellow background, (and a round bottom). Below is a male with mostly a white background. The sp. is distiguished from others of the genus by a yellow or orange streak along the hind wing costa.
The genus was established by Talbot as recently as 1932, using Pieris Charina as the TS.
See also D. Charina.
 

Junonia hierta

The Yellow Pansy is quite common but can be elusive. The sexes can be told apart from their upper sides. The female has a dark spot in the large yellow hind wing patch, and has two wavy lines, characteristic of this group of butterflies, extending inward from the fore-wing costa. The male lacks the spot, and the wavy lines appear to be subsumed into the basal black.

See also Junonia the genus.

 

Junonia the genus

In 1819, Hubner established both the genera Precis (TS Papilio octavia) and Junonia (TS P.lavinia, now J. evarete.) Perhaps in naming Junonia, Hubner had in mind the story of Juno and the peacock with reference to the prominent eye-spots often found in the genus.
Since then the two  genera have been lumped, split and spp. switched across. It is therefore surprising that the phyletic relationship of these similar looking genera is that of rather distant cousins. Junonia's closest relation is Salamis, while that of Precis is Hyoplimnas (see Wahlberg and Brower on tolweb.) Incidentally, Salamis appears to have been re-assigned back to Protogoniomorpha!
There are four commonly found Junonia spp. here:
J. hierta
J. oenone
J. natalica
J. Orithya
I do have a single record of J. terea from the Kruger National Park.
J. tugela has been re-assigned to Precis.
       

Papilio demodocus (I)

A Citrus Swallowtail nectaring on a hypoestes in the garden. A movie picture because they are never still when on the wing. The light band can vary from a very pale yellow to an ochre. The lunule distal to the costal hind wing eye-spot is all yellow, making this  male. But more on this sp. later.

    

Cupidopsis cissus

I have far fewer records of the Common Meadow Blue than its cousin C. jobates, probably because, being less exuberantly marked than the latter it goes less noticed. All three specimens here are from Cumberland.
We found the one pictured at the top while we were walking along the edge of the gorge.
In the middle is the upperside of a male in the company of the mud-puddlers at the drift to the camp site.
At the bottom a female: her blue is less intense than the male and she has wider brown bands to the margins of the wings.
See also Cupidopsis jobates.

Papilio dardanus

On a summers day we would not infrequently see a large cream-coloured butterfly repeatedly patrolling the garden, skilfully manoeuvring through the trees and shrubs. It would be a territorial male Mocker Swallow-tail,   and its flight for all the world resembling a Flying Handkerchief, its other common name.
The attraction of our garden would be some of their food plants: our citrus trees as well as a number of Clausena anisata (horsewood or less politely called perdepis from the strong smell of its crushed leaves.)
The females are more likely to be found resting at a woodland edge sunning their open wings.
The name Mocker because the females come in something like a dozen different forms, quoted as being iconic of female-limited Batesian mimicry. I have only posted four females (and not named them), but these showing a clear resemblance to the distasteful Danaus, Amauris and Acraea.
Here are some references to the genetics, engrailed and invected genes and the "evo-devo" of P. dardanus:
Sean Carroll's book: Endless Forms Most Beautiful.
H. Frederik Nijhout: Polymorphic mimicry in Paplio dardanus...
Rebecca Clark et al: Colour pattern specification in the Mocker Swallowtail...