Sent when ready in May or June. The peacock is a large, reddish-brown butterfly with conspicious multi-coloured eye-spots on each wing. The adult can often be found feeding on buddliea in gardens but will inhabit almost any type of country. There is one generation per year and the larvae feed on nettle where they start out as a black mass in a silken web until the final instar when they become more solitary. Ideal for schools and beginners the peacock can be reared easily on potted nettles and then released to help conserve this lovely butterfly.
When fully grown, larvae will pupate on the stems of the foodplant, or by hanging from the top of the cage. Newly formed pupae are very soft and must not be disturbed for several days, or they will be damaged, leading to malformation. Freshly emerged butterflies can be fed on cut flowers, or on cotton pads soaked in dilute honey solution (one teaspoon to a mug of water) prior to their release.Larvae are best reared on growing, potted nettle, that is either covered in a netting sleeve, or placed inside a suitable net, popup cage. If stocks of living nettle are depleted, mature larvae can be fed on stems of daily cut nettle stood in (milk) bottles of water. Please ensure that you have plugged the neck of the bottle with cotton wool to prevent drowning.
Larval foodplants: nettle (urticae).
Rearing: flowerpot cages, ventilated cages.
Photographs: egg cluster x 20 magnification; egg cluster x 200 magnification; larval web (wild); pupae (dark form); adult butterfly nectaring on thistle.
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ghTsZNgfBY
