EASY GARDEN BUTTERFLIES
Lilac-based, Plain, and Cape Black-eyesLeptomyrina gorgias, henningi, and lara
There are four species of Black-eyes in South Africa, all in the Lycaenidae (Gossamer-winged Butterflies), subfamily Polyommatinae (Blues, Bronzes, Hairstreaks etc.). Three of these are very similar to one another, are found in differing parts of the country, and all occur in gardens. The fourth species, Tailed Black-eye Leptomyrina hirundo, is smaller, has a dark blue upper side, and has long hindwing tails. It is seldom seen in gardens.
These are small (wingspan 20-30mm) low-flying butterflies found across South Africa’s provinces. Cape Black-eye occurs in the Fynbos and Karoo biomes, Brown Black-eye in the central savanna and grasslands, and Lilac-based Black-eye on the mountains and on the seaward side of the Great Escarpment.
They have in common warm brown upper sides and a prominent white-ringed black eyespot at the lower corners of the forewings. Cape Black-eye has a coppery shade similar to the Plain Black-eye, and the Lilac-based Black-eye, as its name suggests, has greyish-mauve bases to the upper sides of the wings. The undersides of all of them are whitish-grey with dark speckles.
Males choose a perch on the side of a bush or on a prominent rock and fly off to chase other butterflies. They fly fast but settle often and readily open their wings to reveal the upper side. The females exhibit similar coloration and patterning as the males; however, they possess broader wings, exhibit slower flight, and are frequently observed on flowers.
Distribution
Black-eyes can be found nearly all over South Africa. They overlap, and the Plain and Lilac-based intermingle and are thought by some to be merely different colour forms of the same butterfly species. Cape Black-eye is only found in South Africa and Namibia but the other two species are found further north in Africa as subspecies.
Egg
Lilac-based Black-eye
Leptomyrina gorgias
Female Black-eyes lay tiny, white or cream eggs singly on the succulent leaves of the host plant. They are 0.75-0.9mm diameter by 0.4-0.5mm high. They are domed with a pattern of white polygons, making them resemble tiny golf balls. They have a prominent dark mark at the centre of the top. The egg stage lasts about five to eight days.
Caterpillar
Lilac-based Black-eye
Leptomyrina gorgias
Black-eye caterpillars are small, and slug-shaped, as are most caterpillars of the Lycaenidae. Fully-grown caterpillars are translucent green with a faint pink line running down the back and wavy pale diagonal lines along the sides. The row of black dots along the side are its spiracles through which it breathes. The skin is covered in tiny bristles and appears velvety. They are leaf-miners, spending their entire lives as larvae inside the host plants’ succulent leaves. They create cavities that fill up with their frass pellets (dung). They grow from 1mm to 22-24mm long in three or four moults over a month to six weeks. They have a ‘honey gland’ on their rear segments like many other Lycaenidae, which attracts the attentions of ants. The ants have been seen removing frass from the leaf cavities.
Pupa/Chrysalis
Pea Blue
Lampides boeticus
Black-eye pupae are smooth-skinned and vary in colour from watery green to pale brown with a varying amount of black or brown speckling and a darker reddish line running along the top of the abdomen. The caterpillars pupate near the host plant but will usually crawl out of their home leaf and move into the debris at the base of the plant. They are attached by tiny hooks on their tail to a silken pad spun by the larva on a stem, twig, dead leaf, or piece of debris and by a silken girdle around their ‘waist’. They are about 10-13mm long, and of a typical rounded Lycaenid shape. The adult normally emerges in about three to four weeks.
Host plant
Black-eye caterpillars feed on many species of succulent plants in the Crassula family. These include Pig’s-ears (Cotyledon orbiculata), Pygmyweeds and Stonecrops (Crassula and Kalanchoë), many of which are popular garden plants.
Grassland Red Crassula with friend
Crassula alba and Papilio dardanus cenea male
Pig's-ears
Cotyledon orbiculata
Nentakalanchoe
Kalanchoë decumbens
Yellow Crassula
Crassula vaginata
How to attract them
Gardeners can encourage the presence of this butterfly by planting any of its host plants, which is quite easy to do as there are so many of them and they are good garden subjects in themselves. Not only do they provide food for Black-eye caterpillars, but they are also among the finest nectar plants for all butterflies.
These plants do well in rockeries, formal herbaceous borders, and grassland gardens. Some other butterflies like Ciliate Blues (Hairtails) also use them as host plants.