Geranium Bronze Butterfly Cacyreus marshalli

Geranium bronze butterfly
Geranium Bronze Butterfly
Geranium Bronze Butterfly
The Geranium Bronze butterfly has a distinctive brown and white patterned underside and a bronze topside, both with "eyespot" and a "tail" (confusing predators to peck at the wrong end).
Geranium Bronze
Geranium Bronze Butterfly
Geranium Bronze
It is native to South Africa and larvae feed on geraniums and pelargoniums. It is now established in Southern Europe and North Africa from imported geraniums and considered a pest species.
Geranium Bronze
Geranium Bronze Butterfly
Geranium Bronze Butterfly
These photos were taken in Italy and Tenerife but there have been recent records of small colonies in the UK although it can't survive the UK winter outside.