Peacock Butterfly

Inachis io

The eye patterns on its wings, to deter predators, resemble the "eyes" in peacock tail feathers, giving the brightly-coloured butterfly its common name

With closed wings, the peacock butterfly is dark brown to black and well-camouflaged, especially when hibernating through winter as an adult

Peacock butterfly caterpillars hatch in large communities, usually on nettles; initially they construct a large silk net to protect themselves from predators

When the young emerge from the silk web they are greyish with black spines, developing into black with white spots as they grow