This charming part of our beautiful country has a huge number of insects to complement the diverse flora, microclimates and habitats. We do not even know to the nearest order of magnitude, how many different insect species occur here.

There is a maxim, that we only see what we know! Well we could add that the discerning and patient tourist WILL see incredible insects. You need to be very patient and look in many different habitats.

The best time to see most butterflies and moths is in spring and autumn. How about trying to see the world's second smallest butterfly, the Dwarf blue (Oraidium barberae) flitting amongst the open succulent vegetation? The combined (dark grey) wingspan is 10 - 14 mm.

In spring, depending on altitude and rainfall, fantastically coloured little, energetic opal butterflies may be found in suitable habitats. Many have gorgeous orange and opalescent blue on the upper surface of the wings. Open rocky areas may reveal little copper butterflies. Many of these have glorious silver spots on the undersurface of their wings.

The little helicopter sounding insect you hear could be a spider hunting wasp transporting a paralysed caterpillar back to its own nest! Listen too for the calls of male cicadas. Each call is unique to the species. The females are totally silent.

The mountainous areas in spring and autumn have many different species of brown butterflies. These may have a bobbing flight, which helps them in being a more difficult prey item for swallows and swifts. These insects often have beautiful black, blue, white and ochre eye-spots in the forewings.