Butterfly Watch

Help scientists find out more about our local butterflies by recording which plants the adult butterflies are feeding on and where butterfly colonies exist.

Try out your photographic skills and photograph the butterfly and plant.

Butterfly Watch is a joint initiative of the South Australian Museum and Butterfly Conservation SA Inc. with assistance from the Norman Wettenhall Foundation.

   

The Butterfly Watch Program
Butterfly watch form
What plants do adult butterflies feed on? Which plants attract adult butterflies?

We know the life history of our South Australian butterflies, and the different food plants their caterpillars eat. We also know, from overseas records, which exotic and introduced flowers attract adult butterflies to gardens.

It has been observed, however, that given the option of an introduced plant versus a native South Australian plant, that adult butterflies prefer the native plant (even if there are many exotic plants nearby).

 

We do not have a comprehensive list of all of the native plants that attract butterflies. Through Butterfly Watch, we hope to add to our existing list of nectar plants that butterflies have been observed feeding on, and be able to provide keen gardeners with information on which native South Australian plants are suitable for the butterflies that visit their garden.