Update: I have now taken a picture of the underside of the wings an am adding it.....
Pirates belong to the Nymphalidae family. They are of medium size and the underwing is dull brown in color.
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They are one of the earliest butterflies to be found in spring and the males are strongly territorial.
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The blue eye-spots are very conspicuous and they can be found throughout the west cost and northern areas of South Africa.