Butterfly world - beauties and beasts

You are planning a trip to the Cape and look forward to going on a wine tour? Add interest and variety to you tour by taking a break at Butterfly World near Klapmuts to the north of Stellenbosch. Should you be travelling with children this is really a must!
Butterfly World is the largest butterfly garden in South Africa. You stroll through a beautifully landscaped tropical garden decorated with a variety of lush green shrubs and climbers and water features. These provide a wonderful backdrop for numerous colourful butterflies leisurely winging their way, perching daintily on and under the foliage or sipping nectar from flowers.
Butterflies feed on nectar and therefore are most active on warm sunny days, when flowers are open. On an overcast day they can also be seen, but are not likely to move around. You will find the common Rose Butterfly from Southeast Asia, black with undulate wings dotted with rose coloured spots or the bright orange Flame Butterfly from Central America, which feeds on the passion fruit vine and incorporates bad tasting chemicals, thus making it unpalatable to birds and other predators and signalling this fact by its bright colour. The Glass wing originates from Mexico to Panama where it feeds on poisonous Cestrum plants. But for a white patch on the wing tips and the supporting veins its wings are virtually transparent, making the insect almost invisible to its enemies.

Butterfly eggs are hatched on butterfly farms in countries such as the Philippines, Costa Rica, Belize, Malaysia and China and the larvae are fed until they pupate. The pupae can then be shipped all over the world per courier. Butterfly World imports about 500 - 800 butterfly pupae of 12 - 20 different species per week from these breeders. Some species can be seen all year round while others are seasonal.
At Butterfly World the pupae are kept in special cages and released into the garden when their wings have unfolded. With some luck you might be able to watch a butterfly extracting itself from its housing and finally spreading its wings.
On average a butterfly lives for only 4 - 10 days, however in captivity with enough food and no predators they may live up to two weeks. Their complete life cycle comprises the following: eggs 6 - 10 days, caterpillar 2 - 6 weeks; pupa 2 weeks - 9 months after which follows the butterfly stage.

Butterfly World started off with only butterflies in 1996. However, over the years it has become home to quite a variety of creatures many of whom were brought in by people who initially thought they would make great pets and then became disenchanted or saw that they were not as easy or entertaining to keep as they had anticipated. This is probably particularly true of the small crocodile which - according to a newspaper clipping attached to its cage - was found in the dormitory of a student who had allegedly hoped to attract the attention of young ladies by this gimmick. A "beast" which looks like a dragon is an iguana, characterised by a dewlap and a row of spines along its back. A third eye is visible only as a pale scale on top of its head and it also has a very large round scale on its cheek. Iguanas have excellent vision and they make good pets.
So in addition to butterflies you will see boa constrictors, baboon spiders, tarantulas, skinks, scorpions, praying mantises, chameleons, lizards and a number of butterfly friendly birds. There are marmoset monkeys, frogs and many other fascinating creatures. All potentially harmful animals are safely enclosed in cages and much information on their activities and life style is provided.
You will learn that baboon spiders may live for up to 20 years and make interesting pets. There is information on various scorpion species and their toxicity and many other fascinating topics.
Reference is also made to local butterflies, for instance the larvae of many Cape butterflies have a honey gland, which attracts certain ants. The ants in turn protect the larvae against parasitic wasps who like to lay their eggs in them.
The greatest threat to butterflies is the reduction and fragmentation of indigenous vegetation by urban expansion, invasion of alien plants and veld fires.
In an adjacent outdoor section of Butterfly World you will find a large aviary as well as free roaming ducks, chickens and goats which are eager to be fed with fodder available from the attached Craft Shop, which also stocks many butterfly related souvenirs. Your children will be entertained for hours and you can refresh yourselves at the Coffee Shop on the premises.

Situated along the N1, close to Exit 47, open all year except 25 December.
Visiting hours: 9h00 - 17h00 daily; 10h00 - 16h00 during June, July and August.