European peacock
Aglais io
Butterfly
The European peacock is a large, instantly recognizable butterfly whose rich rusty-red wings bear four bold eyespots in black, blue, and yellow that startle predators. Adults nectar widely on garden and meadow flowers - buddleia, marjoram, thistles, hemp agrimony, and many herbs - and also take tree sap and overripe fruit late in the year. Larvae feed almost exclusively on stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), occasionally hop or annual nettle, so nettle patches are the essential breeding habitat. Adults overwinter in sheltered places such as hollow trees and outbuildings and reappear in early spring, making the peacock one of the first butterflies on the wing in European gardens.
Plants in the catalog
Nectar plants · 2
Range
Found throughout Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan; widespread and common across the British Isles and currently expanding northward.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). European peacock (Aglais io). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/european-peacock
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
Aglais io - Wikipedia
Identification, Palearctic range, nettle larval hosts, adult overwintering, and broad nectar foraging.
Aglais io - Animal Diversity Web
Life history, nettle host plants, nectar sources, and overwintering behaviour.
GBIF: Aglais io
GBIF matches Aglais io exactly as an accepted species at usageKey 4535827.
iNaturalist: Aglais io
iNaturalist taxon 207977 matches Aglais io exactly at species rank, the European peacock.