Yellow Pansy (male)

Description:

I think I have a new favourite butterfly! Not only was it very beautiful with hidden bright blue spots, it was hard to approach and it had a very interesting behaviour.

Habitat:

High altitude mixed woodland (prim. Acasia bushes) and grassland. This type of butterfly was found on roads or stones, I never saw one on a plant.

Notes:

It had an interesting behaviour, when it landed on the ground it turned itself facing away from the sun, so the sun could lit up all the bright colours on the wings. Then it started to move the wings. I never saw any "result" of this "dance". I am not sure it was to attract a parner. It only attracted my attention :) Junonia hierta is practically distributed pan-Africa and usually common in the drier savannah zones. It also has migratory tendencies that allow it to quickly colonize disturbed habitats in the forest zone, albeit not on a permanent basis. This gives the species a very large extent of occurrence and large area of occupancy. It has been found in virtually all African countries as well as in India and parts of southeastern Asia. (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/15989...)