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| UK Status |
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| Resident |
A species which is continually Resident in the UK with stable breeding populations. |
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| Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Migrant in the UK. It may be able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Migrants are normally reported in the UK every year. |
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| Rare Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Rare Migrant in the UK. It may able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Rare Migrants may not be seen for many years. |
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| Extinct |
A species which is Extinct in the UK, usually as a result of habitat loss. |
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| Introduction |
A species which ocurs in the UK as an accidental introduction. |
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Description
Eggs are usually laid on the tips of vigorous nettle growth in full sun. The female butterfly lays in large batches of over 200 eggs which hatch about 10 days later. Spinning a silken tent at the tip of the nettle the newly emerged caterpillars feed en-mass. As they get larger they venture from the tent to feed. As they grow, they move to find new fresh nettle growth nearby, again en-mass until the final instar where they often feed out in the open. These striking vivid black spiky caterpillars are easily found, often in large numbers feeding on nettles in full sun.
The caterpillars leave the nettle bed to pupate under nearby vegetation or trees. Pupae found on dark surfaces, such as trees, are often a pale grey colour while those under foliage are a yellow green, both forms have a metallic surface pattern and are very well camouflaged. The Adult butterflies emerge about 12 days later. Hibernation takes place in hollow trees, garden sheds and other sheltered places.
Hibernating Adults can sometimes be seen on the wing in January on mild sunny days and is usually seen throughout late spring, summer and early autumn, with a peak in numbers in August.
Habitat
Larval Food Plants
Common Nettle (Urtica dioica). |
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| Stock Photography Library |
| We have 19 photographs of the Peacock in the British Butterflies photo library |
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BB1245 - Peacock
DSC_8360.JPG
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BB1206 - Peacock
DSC_7504.JPG
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BB983 - Peacock
DSC_5547.JPG
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BB909 - Peacock
DSC_5135.JPG
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| Distribution |
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| Where to see the Peacock |
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| Population Trends |
| species status |
the Peacock is a resident species in Britain |
| population trend1 |
(1995-2004)  down by -40% |
(1976-2004)  up by 90% |
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1Fox, R., Asher. J., Brereton. T., Roy, D & Warren, M.
(2006) The State of Butterflies in Britain & Ireland, Pices, Oxford. |
| UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Status |
| UK BAP status2 |
not listed (link) |
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| 2 For more information about the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species status, visit www.ukbap.org.uk. |
| IUCN Category Status |
| IUCN category3 |
 least concern4 |
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3 Fox, R., Warren, M & Brereton, T.
(2007) New Red List of British Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation, Wareham.
4 More information about IUCN categories available here. |
| Find Out More Online |
More information about the Peacock can be found on Peter Eeles excellent UK Butterflies web site.
External Links Disclaimer
This pages provide links to information provided by external web sites which are not in any way under the control of www.britishbutterflies.co.uk. We cannot, therefore, be held responsible for the content of external web pages. |
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Aberrations and Forms |
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| We currently know of 9 named aberrant forms of the Peacock. More information about aberrants can be found here. |
 ab. belisaria - Oberthür (1889) |
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| ab. exoculata - Weymer (1878) |
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| ab. iodes - Ochsenheimer (1807) |
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| ab. nigrocellata - Reuss (1911) |
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| ab. pallens - Knoch (1927) |
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| ab. prochnovi - Pronin (1925) |
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| ab. semi-ocellata - Frohawk (1938) |
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| ab. splendens - Reuss (1909) |
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| ab. viridiocellata - Reuss (1910) |
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| References |
| The information on this web site comes from a variety of freely available resources including books, academic reports and web sites alongside my own personal observations of butterflies. The species descriptions are currently in the process of being edited (spring 2009) to include new data, recent personal observations and referencing following a major update to the site.
A complete list of references mentioned in the text on this web site is available here. |
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63-75mm
