Peacock butterfly
Inachis io
family - Nymphalidae
The Peacock butterfly's wings are reddish-brown on top with distinctive "false eye" markings. The underside is dark brown to black.
My personal observations of Peacock:
months seen in my garden: March to May, end of July to August
garden plants that attract this species:
Aubrieta, Buddleia,
Ceanothus, Chives,
Forget-me-not, Heliotrope,
Marigold, Muscari,
Sedum, Skimmia, Verbena
Butterfly sightings 2005:
Peacock butterfly on
Ceanothus, 15 May
First sighting of summer Peacock butterfly, 28 July
Several Peacock butterflies mainly on Buddleia, daily 1-5 August
Seen in garden, 15 August
Seen on Thistle in Cirencester Park, 20 August
Seen on Water Mint at Matara garden, 4 September
Butterfly sightings 2004:
The Peacock butterfly hibernates over the Winter and emerges in the Spring to search for a mate:
Peacock on Muscari, 30
March
Peacock on Muscari, 31 March
Peacock on Forget-me-not,
9 April
The new butterflies appear in the Summer. I missed the summer of 2004 as I was admitted to hospital on 15 July for 4 months.
Top 7 memorable images of 2003:
I have 82 digital images from 2003. Peacock butterflies mostly visit Buddleia bushes and are not particularly interested in other flowers. Can you have too many pictures of Peacock butterflies on Buddleia? Yes. I've restricted myself to just 7 photos and 2 do not involve Buddleias!
Classic view of Peacock on Buddleia
'Black Knight'. August 2.
2 Peacock butterflies on Buddleia
Nanho Blue. July 30.
2 Peacock butterflies on unnamed Buddleia.
August 2.
On Sedum spectabile! September
4.
On Water Mint beside the
river Thames at Waterhay. August 3.
On Buddleia. August 8.
Side view. On Buddleia.
August 8.
A selection of images from previous years:
18 August 2002, damaged Peacock
on Verbena
21 April 2002 on Bluebell
August 2000 on Marigold
August 2000 on Verbena
4 August 1999 on Buddleia in
my previous garden
4 August 1999 resting on Hop
28 July 1999 on Buddleia
observations:
There's one generation per year. The larval food plant is the Nettle, which is the same larval plant as the Small Tortoiseshell butterfly. However, the Peacock butterflies are a few weeks ahead of the Small Tortoiseshell butterflies thus avoiding competition. This is noticeable in the garden (about August) as the highest numbers of Peacock butterflies appear before the highest numbers of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.
Reference Section
Size: 63mm (similar size to Large White - see list of butterflies by size)
First Generation flight period: July-May (over-winters as butterfly)
Larval Food Plants: Nettles
Wild Nectar Plants: Bluebell, Field Scabious, Water Mint, Thistle
Family Group: Nymphalidae - see list of butterflies by family