SOME peacock butterflies are on the wing. This is an unusual month in which to see them. The peacocks which came out of hibernation and laid their eggs in spring have usually all died by the end of May, while their offspring do not normally emerge until July. These surprising June butterflies might be spring individuals that have lived longer than usual, but it is more likely that they are the first of the new brood, out and about rather early. If so, it would mean that their mothers also laid their eggs earlier than usual, perhaps because of a warm winter.
Most peacock butterflies are still in the form of black caterpillars feeding on stinging nettles. The fully formed butterflies, when they first emerge from the chrysalis, have very small, folded-up wings, but they hang themselves up somewhere with plenty of space around them, and within an hour their wings have opened and grown to full size. Then, after a bit of warming up, they can fly.
Peacock butterflies get their name from the colourful “eyes” on their wings, like the “eyes” that beautify peacocks’ tail feathers.
DJM