Arabic version: وصول فراشات الكَبَر البيضاء إلى أديلايد

According to ABC News, thousands of caper white butterflies have been spotted across Adelaide during their annual migration from Central Australia. The white butterflies with black-tipped wings are moving south for the summer to avoid searing temperatures and a limited food supply further north.

Kris Messenger of Adelaide invertebrate education service Bugs and Slugs said heavy rain in Central Australia had created favourable conditions for the butterflies, allowing their numbers to build up. The insects rest on native and introduced caper plants during the migration, which occurs every year but can be difficult to notice in average years without a caper bush.

Ms Messenger said the butterflies arriving in Adelaide are not necessarily those that departed from the middle of the country. While the insects can live for weeks or months, she said the butterfly that leaves Alice Springs is not the same one that arrives in Adelaide, with later generations continuing the journey.

Gardeners do not need to worry about caper white caterpillars eating vegetable patches: butterflies drink nectar and the caterpillars feed only on caper bushes. Conservationist and horticulturist Kate Grigg, whose front-garden caper bush received migrating butterflies about two weeks before other parts of Adelaide, said she had noticed higher-than-usual numbers and mating on the bush. She encouraged people to plant caper bushes to attract them.

Ms Messenger said dragonflies, grasshoppers and other insects were also expected in high numbers, describing 2026 as a strong year for insects and invertebrates. She also highlighted chequered swallowtails, red spotted jezebel butterflies, yellow admirals and lesser wanderers, while noting monarch butterflies are an invasive species.