The annual migration of brown-veined white butterflies is currently taking place in South Africa. The migration these butterflies, also called Pioneer White or African Caper White (Belenois aurota) takes place during midsummer every year in South Africa. According to Johan van der Walt who wrote about the migration of the brown-veined white butterflies for Wildlife South Africa blog, the butterflies fly steadily in a north-easterly direction, as their annual migration hit especially the Central, Northern, and North-eastern parts of South Africa.

Depending on climatic conditions like rain and drought, their numbers differ each year. The migration is also noticed in Hartbeespoort as an uncountable number of the brown-veined white butterflies fill the sky while steadily flying by. After crossing the provinces of the Northern Cape, parts of the Free State and North West Province on their journey northeast, they fly in the province of Gauteng as well as in parts of Mpumalanga province and also parts of Limpopo Province.

“Some years I have seen the sky white with the Butterflies as they flew past for about 3 days in uncountable numbers.

This butterfly favours amongst others, the Shepherd’s Tree (Boscia Albitrunca) on which they breed,” says van der Walt. The Brown-veined White also called Pioneer White or African Caper White (Belenois aurota) is of the Family Pieridae, with a wingspan of 45 millimetres, is known as South Africa’s most common butterfly and occurs in most areas in South Africa. Every year in midsummer (December or January) they gather in their millions, when they migrate in a north-easterly direction.