Pearl Charaxes Butterfly, also known as a Pearl Emperor Butterfly:
This is one of the most beautiful butterflies found on the Bluff and also quite large at 70-90mm in size.
When they sit with wings closed on a branch of a tree, one can easily confuse it with a dead leaf, but its when those wings open up in the sun that the true beauty is revealed, with a snow white center and flaming orange boarder.
Butterflies are usually associated with flowers? Well not so with this one, as these like nothing more than to suck on fermenting fruit, specially rotten Banana’s. As you well know fermenting fruit makes alcohol, which makes for some interesting butterfly viewing. once they have had their fill they become quite intoxicated and unawares or unconcerned with their environment, making them easy to approach and even to pose for a good photo shoot.
So if you would like to attract these beauties to your garden, try put some rotten fruit in a nice sunny location and then wait. Some folks say that deliberately making them drunk is cruel, however these butterflies are quite capable of finding rotting fruit in the bush.
God Bless
Warren
