Concerning reason behind 'amazing phenomenon' in Aussie town: 'May not see it again'
The swarms of butterflies have been attracted to the area due to the increasing spread of invasive weeds. Butterfly larvae feed on narrow-leaf cotton bush and milkweed, both of which are thriving near Nannup.
The butterflies arrived in the town about two months ago, with locals saying they've never seen anything like it.
'It's been amazing, it's an amazing phenomenon,' Heather Walford, from Nannup Lavender Farm, told Yahoo News. 'We always get butterflies but not en masse.'
She said the butterflies were 'good for business', as tourists venture out to the town in the state's South West region to admire the insects.
Can't have butterflies without noxious weeds
Nannup was built alongside the Blackwood River and is surrounded by pine plantations – both of which are conducive to the growth of invasive weeds. Cotton bush and milkweed are toxic to humans and animals, and outcompete native plants.
The town recently held their annual Flower and Garden Festival, and while the butterflies are attracted to the 20,000 tulips decorating the streets, they cannot lay their eggs in them.
Horticulturist Colin Barlow said the invasive plants are an important part of their lifecycle, and without the weeds there would be no monarch butterflies.
'It's a bit of a symbiotic relationship, but without these plants the monarch butterfly can't survive,' Colin told Yahoo News.
Adult butterflies can survive on the nectar of other plants, but caterpillars will only eat milkweeds and cotton bush, he added.
"It's getting that balance to control them to make sure it doesn't become more of a problem in cultivated areas and gardens. It's really educating the public landowners to keep it clear, to weed them out before it goes to seed."
Colin was a featured guest at the festival, and said the butterflies made a spectacular sight – but noted it may not occur on such a large scale again.
'Everybody loves butterflies because it's such a fleeting existence… and just to see swarms of them. It's just very, very unusual,' he said.
'It's an introduced insect, and it needs to survive on declared weeds, so it's a tricky sort of ecological and environmental balance you've got to get between the weed and the species. But we've got to enjoy this because we may not see it again."
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