When you go out into the garden at home in the summer, it doesn't take long to see a butterfly fluttering from flower to flower. The farm is also teeming with these colourful little insects. Feeding mainly on nectar, they help pollinate the plants and become indispensable for a healthy ecosystem.
The largest butterfly on the farm is the citrus butterfly. With a wingspan of 9 to 11 cm, other butterflies look like dwarfs in comparison. As a caterpillar, this species feeds exclusively on citrus plants. For this reason, it is unfortunately an endangered species, as humans are clearing entire strips of land without any
consideration, thus destroying the basis of life for many animals.
Another beautiful looking butterfly is a species of passion flower butterfly, which feeds on poisonous plants all its life, making it completely inedible to any predator.
An inconspicuous butterfly that does not look particularly spectacular with its simple blue-brown colouring is the oddly named Brown Playboy. The caterpillar feeds on sugary plants and leaves honeydew as excretion. This attracts ants which look after and protect the caterpillar. When the caterpillar pupates,
the ants drag the pupa into their burrow where the moth can form in safety. When it hatches, it crawls out of the burrow unhindered by the ants, where it can then fly away. Even if they seem uninteresting at first glance, there is an amazing life story behind them.
