Southern Gaudy Commodore

EASY GARDEN BUTTERFLIES

Southern Gaudy CommodorePrecis octavia sesamus

The Southern Gaudy Commodore is one of the Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies), subfamily Nymphalinae (Admirals, Pansies etc.).

Southern Gaudy Commodore is well-named because it’s one of the most brilliantly coloured medium-sized butterflies we have in South Africa. It’s the largest of our Commodores with a wingspan of 50-65mm. It’s also a superb example of seasonal dimorphism.

A winter form Gaudy Commodore looks very different to a summer form one. Summer form Gaudy Commodores are brilliant pinkish red to orange. Winter (dry season) forms were once thought to be a completely different butterfly species. They are deep iridescent blue that shifts in hue depending on the angle of view. This is set off by a band of red spots on the outer edge of each wing. The underside of this form is almost black.

As with the related Garden Inspector the two forms behave differently. Summer forms are found in open country where they frequent hilltops and bright sunny places. Winter forms tend to hole up in shady places like riverbanks and culverts and only come out on sunny days. The males are aggressively territorial and will choose a high point and chase away all other butterflies from it.

‘.

Distribution

Southern Gaudy Commodores occur along the coastal littoral and lowveld from East London to northern Limpopo as well as in the Drakensberg and other mountains and their foothills. They’re common in grassland habitats that have sufficient rainfall to support their host plants and rocky areas to provide shelter. They can withstand cold conditions because of their habit of hibernating in dark, sheltered places.

Southern Gaudy Commodores are found in Africa south of the equator. Its northern cousin Precis octavia octavia (which it resembles closely) occurs across Africa south of the Sahara to the equator.

Egg

Commodores are closely related to Pansies and Diadems and have similar eggs. This Southern Gaudy Commodore egg is typical – green, barrel-shaped, tapered towards the top with 12-14 white vertical ribs that don’t reach the apex, with faint cross-ribbing. They are laid on young shoots of the host plant, singly or in small groups. They are about 0.7mm diameter by 0.6mm high. The egg stage lasts five to ten days, taking longer in cool conditions.

Caterpillar

Fully-grown Southern Gaudy Commodore caterpillars vary in ground colour from buff to mid-brown to brown-black. This is overlaid by dark stripes and bands of varying weight. The head has two branched spiny horns. The body has seven rows of branched, black spines, one per segment. Although spiny they don’t sting or make you itch. They grow from 2mm to 48-50mm long over a month. There are normally four moults but when growth is slow there can be five.

Pupa/Chrysalis

Gaudy Commodore pupae are similar in shape to those of Diadems and Pansies, with short spines on the back. The colour varies from mid-brown to orange-brown, with a band of brassy gold across the wing cases.

The pupa is about 25mm long. The pupal stage lasts from two to four weeks depending on climate conditions.

Host plants

Southern Gaudy Commodore host plants are in the family Lamiaceae: Sages, Mints and cultivated Coleus, in the genera Plectranthus and Coleus. Favoured plants are Blue Boys Coleus livingstonei, Vicks Plant Coleus hadiensis, Spike Spurflower Coleus subspicatus, Lobster bush Coleus neochilus, and Tall Spurflower Plectranthus ecklonii. Upland Fly Bush Rabdosiella calycina and Herero Spurflower Plectranthus hereroensis are also used.

How to attract them

Gardeners can promote the presence of this butterfly by cultivating its preferred host plants. Some of these are popular garden plants, so it’s not a surprise that Southern Gaudy Commodores often turn up in gardens.

Like its close relatives the Pansies and Diadems it’s a sun-loving insect that’s often found on flowers. Males like to patrol hilltops and other prominent landforms.

Commodores and their relatives seek out sheltered places in winter to hibernate as adults. They often enter houses and hide behind the curtains, or sneak into tool sheds.

Some other aspects

The undersides of butterflies can look very different to their upper sides, so it helps to be able to recognise them. Also, Gaudy Commodores have a ‘change of the guard’ in spring and late summer. Occasionally (and very rarely) you might see one that is in between the summer and winter forms. This is the rare form transiens. They vary a lot. Some look like winter forms with a splash of summer form colour along the edge of the wings. Others are more of a mixture, with shades of pink or purple.