The butterfly with colorful eyes on its wings flutters around the garden on warm days of the year, looking for flowers with delicious nectar. In winter you can't see anything of it far and wide. Is this due to a short lifespan, or is it allowed to exist for more than one summer?
How long is the lifespan of the peacock butterfly?
The lifespan of a peacock butterfly is at least one year, and in favorable habitats even up to two years. As a butterfly, it survives the winter in hiding places such as caves, tree hollows or cool rooms in human dwellings.
Egg, caterpillar and butterfly
The peacock butterfly can be found in several stages of development. Little green caterpillars hatch from the eggs laid in spring. They grow and molt several times until they finally pupate. The metamorphosis into a butterfly begins. The individual life stages of this insect species vary in length.
The laying of eggs
In spring, the overwintering of the adult butterflies ends. They fly out to collect the first nectar, for example from early-flowering pussy willows. They lay their eggs on the undersides of the nettle leaves. This is because their caterpillars feed exclusively on this plant.
The “age” of the eggs extends from the time they are laid until the 3 mm small caterpillars hatch. This is usually the case after about 2-3 weeks.
Peacock butterfly caterpillars
At the beginning the caterpillars are green, with longitudinal stripes. They are developing in giant steps. After several molts and 3-4 weeks later they are large, black, with white spots. The time has come to pupate. This means that the caterpillars only reach a modest age. The “conversion” to a butterfly begins.
The beginning of butterfly life
The pupal shell is transparent, so the hatching of the butterfly can be easily observed after just two weeks:
- wing markings can be seen
- the butterfly tears at specified seams
- forces himself out of the cocoon
- the wings are filled with air and blood
- this makes them hard and able to fly
Tip
Do you like watching insects? You can breed your own peacock butterflies in May and June using caterpillars from the breeder (€54.00 on Amazon) or BUND.
Lifespan of the butterfly
We can easily observe with our own eyes that the peacock butterfly lives during the warm season. In the fall every trace of him seems to disappear. But that's deceptive.
- the butterfly has looked for a shelter
- in a cave, tree hole, etc.
- also in cool rooms of human habitation
This is how the butterfly survives the winter and mates in the spring. Its lifespan is therefore at least one year. In particularly advantageous habitats it can reach a maximum age of two years.
Tip
You can read more information about appearance, habitat, food and predators in the profile.
