Steve Woodhall’s lifelong love for butterflies began at the age of five in Heywood, England, where childhood curiosity sparked what would become a distinguished career in lepidopterology.

His father, a textile engineer who cultivated silkworms, initially doubted young Steve’s reports of garden butterflies.

“My father didn’t believe me, so I took a net, caught one and showed him – this ignited my lifelong passion for butterflies,” recalled Woodhall.

His passion led him to South Africa, a dream he realised in 1980 when he relocated to Johannesburg.
“The country is fantastic for butterflies, especially in April and May, when numbers surge. It’s where I’m meant to be!”

In 1986, Woodhall joined the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa, later serving as its president for eight years.

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Over more than three decades of fieldwork across Africa, he has evolved from specimen collecting to digital photography.

His contributions include several acclaimed publications, among them Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa – a project that took 20 years to complete – and Gardening for Butterflies. His mobile app, Woodhall’s Butterflies of South Africa, is regarded as a leading digital identification guide for local species.

Woodhall estimates he has nearly 4 000 observations on iNaturalist, along with more than 52 000 identifications of butterflies and moths.

Now 68 and living in Gillitts near Kloof, Woodhall owns and operates Butterfly Gear, offering photographic field guides and tours.

He is Field Guide Association of South Africa certified and says the North Coast remains one of the country’s richest areas for butterfly enthusiasts. His research relies on transect counts, or Pollard walks – fixed routes surveyed repeatedly in good weather.

“There’s a guy called Ernie Pollard whom I met when I was a kid. In the 1970s, he developed a way of doing a 1km transect. You register it geographically, walk it, and count every butterfly you see.”

The Harold Johnson Nature Reserve, Prince’s Grant and Zimbali Estate are among his recommended hotspots, especially for sightings of the fleeting forest queen (Euxanthe wakefieldi), which lives for only about two weeks.

“The forest queen is one of the biggest and most spectacular butterflies found on the KZN North Coast,” said Woodhall.

“It was once mainly found in northern Zululand, later near Blythedale and Jex Estates, but in recent years it has become more abundant, reaching as far as the Eastern Cape.”

Find out more about Steve Woodhall’s work on his website, Butterfly Gear – Steve Woodhall.