UK: Peacock butterfly, Inachis io

[spiralsheep]

At tai chi, which my group practice outside, we were outnumbered by peacock butterflies (Inachis io), who flew around us and occasionally perched on us, so when we'd finished I grabbed my camera and chased them through the buddleia. The one I capped, probably a male, is this year's adult but has already faded from its brightest red and metallic blue. Adult wingspan is about 6.5 to 7cm (so the images on this page are about lifesize). The larvae/caterpillars are generally black and always spiky. More details and images here @ ukbutterflies.





The butterfly's long tongue is visible reaching down inside the buddleia blossom in the next cap.

Comments

[carolyn_claire]

Lucy you, to share your practice with such beautiful butterflies! Lovely pics.

[spiralsheep]

Thank you! And, yes, we were very lucky. It's usually rabbits who join in with us. ;-)

[firefly99]

I love how peacock butterflies have four wing eyes. If it was two eyes, fine, but nothing in nature has four eyes. You'd think something would see through their cunning disguises.

[spiralsheep]

Ahahahaha! You are my brain twin! I ALWAYS wonder that! I understand that sometimes only the top/upper pair of "eyes" is visible because of their wing position, and that the "eyes" are different colours and probably differ in their visibility to non-human eyes/brains, &c., BUT peacock butterfly cunning plans for disguise do have a whiff of Baldrick!fail about them, yes.

[thnidu]

They are lovely, thank you!

But "Adult wingspan is about 6.5 to 7cm (so the images on this page are about lifesize)." Doesn't that depend on one's screen size and pixel count?

[spiralsheep]

You're welcome.

I presume it's dependent on pixel count (my screen is relatively standard but you might be choosing to surf the interwebz at a uber-blurry non-standard resolution or projecting the image on your wall via a cinema projector for all I know...) but you can always measure the second image on your screen to find out, lol. That's why I included the info and the qualification "about" lifesize. ;-P

[thnidu]

Heh! Thanks.

[spiralsheep]

:-)

[lark_ascends]

Beautiful!!

[spiralsheep]

Thank you (on the butterfly's behalf)! :-)