The Brenton Blue butterfly, Orachrysops niobe, was first discovered during a visit to Knysna 150 years ago, in 1858, by Roland Trimen, curator of the South African Museum in Cape Town.
It was not seen again anywhere else until it was found again at Nature’s Valley in 1977 by Dr Jonathan Ball, a Cape Town radiologist and butterfly expert.
Unfortunately, the butterfly disappeared from Nature’s Valley by the late 1980s, as more and more houses were built there.
Ernest Pringle, an Eastern Cape farmer and butterfly enthusiast, discovered the location of the colony at Brenton-on-Sea in November 1991.
This colony is the only known remaining place where this butterfly occurs, despite intensive searches along the Southern Cape coast by many lepidopterists (butterfly experts).
Small populations, like this one, will always be at great risk of chance events, such as severe drought or an uncontrolled fire.
The reserve is carefully monitored and managed, so that the health and availability of the butterfly's food plant, Indigofera erecta, is sustained.
In addition, viable colonies of the ant species, Camponotus baynei, to which the Brenton Blue's lifecycle is strongly linked, need to be present. These ant colonies may be threatened by invasive (alien) ant species or vegetation changes.
Furthermore, small breeding populations of any species of animal are at risk of loss of genetic diversity, due to inbreeding effects. If any genetic deformities are present, these will persist in future generations and may lead to deterioration of the species.
The greatest threat to butterflies is loss of habitat, due to encroachment by diverse developments, such as housing and golf courses. As the human population continues to grow, more and more natural land is irreplaceably destroyed.
All living creatures need space to survive, unless we commit to preserving space for them, many animals will disappear forever.
Much of the development which threatens butterfly species today involves non-essential construction of luxury homes, hotels and golf courses.
As the current guardians of biodiversity, we need to seriously consider whether such developments are really worth the permanent loss of any species.
The Brenton Blue butterfly’s scientific name, Orachrysops Niobe, comes from the tragic figure, Niobe, in Greek mythology, who turned into a weeping stone after her children were murdered.