Butterfly of the month - June 2008 - The Peacock (Inachis io)

The Peacock (Picture 1) Photo © B.Kirby

The Peacock butterfly can be seen in the reserve from:
Late March til early May, when the buttefly comes out of winter hibernation
Early July to August.

Both the male and female are simular and the underside of the butterfly is black.

During late July to early August you may find many of these butterflies on the Buddliea bushes in the kitchen gardens, topping up with nectar before going into hibernation for the winter.

The butterfly only has one generation a year. During April & May it is possible to see the females flying around clumps of nettles, which the butterfly lays its eggs on. The eggs are laid in batches, on the underside of the nettle leaf, and are green in colour.

When the eggs hatch the larvae spin a silk web on the top of a nettle. The larvae are black and spikey (Picture 2). They are also prone to attack by a parasitoid wasp which lays its eggs into the growing larvae. The eggs then hatches inside the larva and the grub feeds on the insides, sadly killing it before it pupates.

The larva of the Peacock Butterfly (Picture 2) Photo © B.Kirby

Before the larva pupates it wonders off to find a sutiable area and can be seen often crawling around near the nettles.

The pupa of this species is not often found, but is a green or yellow colour.

The picture below was taken in 2006. It shows what happens when bats find the winter hibernation of the Peacock butterfly.

Bats feed after finding a winter hibernation location of the Peacock (Picture 3) Photo © B.Kirby

Next month - The Small Skipper Butterfly