‘It felt magical’: monarch butterfly swarm delights visitors and locals in Western Australia town

For more than two months, the bright orange butterflies have been descending on Nannup in WA’s south-west, attracted by invasive plant species

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Lounging on the tulips, roosting in the eucalyptus, humming around the bottlebrush – a butterfly swarm has invaded a rural Australian town to the delight of locals and tourists alike.

Thousands of monarch butterflies have taken over Nannup, in south-west Western Australia, although experts warn their high numbers are evidence of the advance of invasive weeds.