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Enhancing Wild Life and Habitat Conservation
within the Shimba Hills National Reserve

BUTTERFLIES OF THE SHIMBA HILLS

  THE SHIMBA NOTES (NUMBER TWO):

The Shimba Hills forests are probably the second richest place for butterflies in Kenya, only the Kakamega forest boasting more.

There exist over 250 recorded species, including some endemics named shimbanus found only in these isolated forest patches in the hills south of Mombasa and nowhere else in the world.

Butterflies are literally swarming after the rains in April/ May each year.

As you leave Kwale town and before you reach the Main Gate (Sable Entrance), you pass through forest patches badly infested with Lantana camara; however, the pretty flowers of this weed do provide nectar for lots of Swallowtails, Whites and Danaid butterflies.

An excellent butterfly observation point is around the newly renovated Sable Bandas, where there is always a profusion flying around in the trees when the sun is out.

If you look down to the forest below, you can see the Urera zanzibarica, a stinging creeper which is a favourite food-plant of Hypolymnas usambarae (the Usambara Diadem), a very local and spectacular nymph butterfly with its orange-red hindwing border on the underside.

Take a look on the stems of some of the trees, and you will see little brown Lycaenid (Blues) butterflies fluttering around.

Some of these lay their eggs on the algae on the bark of trees.

Others lay in mistletoe (Loranthacae) and some live in association with ants' nests, the ants taking the caterpillars into their nests and feeding ant brood to them in return for a "nectar gland" on the caterpillar's back !

On the walk to Sheldrick Falls you will see plenty of butterflies along the banks of the stream and below the falls.  

Butterfly from Mwele Mdogo Forest (probably Euptera kinugnana).
PHOTO - COURTESY SABINE BAER

At certain times of year along the Mwele Mdogo forest track there will be clouds of white and yellow butterflies, Swallowtails and Swordtails on the elephant droppings in the road if they are nice and fresh and steamy.

The butterflies are looking for mineral salts.

They can also be found 'mudpuddling' on the track after a rain shower.

The highlight of a butterfly-spotting safari would be to stop at the newly laid-out Makadara Picnic Site.

This has been one of my personal favourite butterfly spots even long before Shimba Hills was created a National Reserve.

If you walk along the forest road you will see Cymothoe (Coast Glider) and Euptera, beautiful gliding butterflies perched in the sun spots of the forest.

The figs lying on the forest floor will attract the Euphedra (Forester) butterflies that sit with their jewel-like wings open alongside the roadside, zooming off as someone passes by.

Pengo Hill has a special little orange Lycaenid, Alaena amazonla (Yellow Zulu) living on the algae on the exposed black granitic rocks on the south-facing slope.

This is the only place this species has ever been recorded in Kenya.

Along the Reserve periphery, some of the local villagers have organised themselves to breed butterflies to pupae, which we then buy for the Butterfly Education Centre flying house in Karen, Nairobi.

Thus the villagers derive an income and feel persuaded to preserve the forest and its denizens.

This is one of the encouraging aspects of village-based conservation.

- STEVE COLLINS

African Butterfly Research Institute (ABRI)

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

On 28 July 2002 our 1st Annual General Meeting was held at Makadara Picnic Site, shade for the Members being provided by the splendid new Eden-funded Banda.

115 Members with their children and guests attended, including 30 young people from Ziwani and Ngozini Wildlife Clubs, the first to join our new Group Membership category.

They entertained us with their charming songs and poems, especially composed for the occasion.

The Director of KWS attended with senior members of his administration.

The Minutes of the AGM are appended herewith; the function ended officially with the Opening of the new Banda and the planting, by his sons, of Ted's commemorative tree.

Then Members tucked into their picnics and later went on a highly enjoyable, if strenuous(!) tour of the new Mwele Mdogo forest track under the expert guidance of botanist Ann Robertson and historian James Willson.

The new Shimba Shirts were introduced and proved popular: these can still be obtained at the Baobab Trust office, or at Pisces Gift Shop, Diani.

FOUNDER TRUSTEE TED GOSS

Sadly, we record the death on 17 June 2002 of one of our Founder Trustees, E. C. Goss.

From SSG's inception he was an enthusiastic and constructive member of the Board, and was of course a pillar of Kenya's conservation scene for several decades.

An mvule sapling was planted in the Makadara Banda in his memory on 28 July at the AGM, and a lengthier tribute will be found in the Chairman's AGM .

NEW MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

Membership took another upward bound at the AGM, and now stands at 171 Individual, 10 Corporate and 2 Group Members.

We have opened a new Membership "Group" Category, aimed at attracting the young folk from local schools or Wildlife Clubs.

They are the conservationists of the future.

Joining Fees are KSh.500/- per Individual, KSh.2,000/- per Corporation, and KSh.500/- per Group (with SSG opting to provide a portion of the Group joining fee, as an incentive.)

We warmly welcome new supporters.  

NEWSLETTER SPONSORSHIP

No-one offered to sponsor this issue - we may not be able to continue publishing without financial support!

As we don't levy annual subscriptions, we wondered if our Members would like to send us donations to keep the Newsletter going?

We've finally got our own "Shimba Support Group" bank account waiting to accept your cheques!!

DONORS AND SPONSORS

Bamburi Cement Co. Ltd, Baobab Farm Ltd , Janine Davy, D-Map Ltd. , Eden Wildlife Trust, Flora Printers , Tibor Gaal, Pauline Groom , Christa Haller, Dr. Richard Leakey , John and Judy Lindgren, Louise Piper , Ken and Margaret Martin, Claudia Raven , Abdulkadir and Aisha Khan, Shimba Kenya.

Our Contact:   SHIMBA SUPPORT GROUP: P.O. Box 81995, Mombasa, Kenya.
Phone 5486155/ 54855O1 ext.290 Email: baobabtrust@swiftmombasa.com

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