Butterfly Watching In Uganda

When you think of undertaking a safari to Uganda expect to encounter more than just mountain gorillas, chimpanzees, birds or the big game. Butterfly watching still remains untapped experience and still rewards travel endeavors with authentic experiences hence making Uganda a few most splendid tourist destinations in Africa. It is endowed with nature comprising of over 33 percent tropical rainforest and more than 1235 beautiful butterflies.

Most of these amazing natural treasures can easily be spotted in the national parks and there are 10 of them which are distributed in various parts of Uganda. They include Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park, Mgahinga National Park, Kidepo Valley National Park, Lake Mburo National Park, Queen Elizabeth National Park, Murchison Falls National Park, Semuliki Valley National Park, Kibale Forest Forest, Mount Elgon National Park and Mount Rwenzori National Park and many wildlife reserves as well as water bodies. While on safari to any of these protected areas make sure that you do not miss to catch a glimpse at the beautiful butterflies while on nature walk, forest walk primate walk or any safari.

From the known number of butterflies on record, about 31 of them are endemic to Uganda 117 of them are a sub species, about and their presence in different parts of this country makes it one of the best safari destinations with the most diverse attractions. You can sight at varied butterflies while on Uganda safari and the famous groups include the papilionidae which comes with 31 species, pieridae-99 species, Nymphalidae with 447 species and Lycaenidae and many more.

A safari in Uganda offers you a great opportunity to catch a glimpse at these colorfully beautiful creatures which come in different colors-red, green, yellow and or mixed colors. Due to their shinning colors, they are a few most eye catching species that you won’t miss to sight. Most of them are endowed with long straw like appendage called proboscis that allows them to sip nectar. Both butterflies and moths can easily select leaves for laying their eggs. Butterfly wings aren’t very colorful and thus helps safe guard them from enemies. Butterflies are the only insects with scales and feature pigment.

The mighty rift valley region is known for its diverse habitats that have helped most of the butterfly species to thrive and they include tropical rainforests, woodlands, savanna grasslands and many more. These incredible creatures can easily be spotted while on nature walks in the parks that also allow you explore distinct floral and bird species. Their life-cycle is usually connected to plants and crops and on the other hand, their life span ranges from 20-40 days and a few of them can go up to 89 months.

Conclusively, butterfly watching still remains one of a few rare activities in Uganda that have not been fully explored. Exploring this amazing activity reward travel endeavors with authentic experiences. Interestingly, you can even combine it with a number of safari activities for instance birding, nature walks and many more.