Peacock Butterfly Inachis io 10 larvae

Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

Take advantage of this good season and help native butterfly species. Have the fun of watching them develop, pupate and hatch. Then release the butterflies to enhance the local butterfly population.

Young larvae should be started on growing nettle tips where they live in a tight cluster. When the larvae are larger, keep them caged on cut stems of nettle in a jar of water. Pupae are formed in a matter of weeks, hanging from the cage top. Butterflies emerge in about 3 weeks.  They can be kept for a few days in a cage with flowers for nectar, then released into the wild.

Peaock larvae need fresh nettle, growing if possible. Below we suggest a possible alternative, but growing nettle is the strongly recommended rearing method.

If you wish to rear the larvae in plastic boxes, while they are small, they can be kept on a lining of absorbent paper, with a sizeable sprig of fresh, un-wilted nettle. The paper lining must be changed and fresh food given EVERY day (including weekends). Place the previous day’s food with larvae on the new paper liner, add a fresh and adequate sprig of nettle, and the larvae will transfer themselves to the new food. Give them entire nettle stems with leaves, not leaves alone. Close the lid and keep the box out of sunlight. The closed container keeps the foodplant fresh. No holes are needed because there is more than enough trapped air for larvae to breathe. Never allow excessive condensation, nor mould. The size of box should be chosen according to the size and number of larvae being reared. The size 5 box is large enough to house them once they have grown for a week or two. For smaller larvae the Size 8 is appropriate. Rearing in a plastic container is only a temporary measure. Before the larvae become too large for the box, they should be kept in a cage, with the nettle kept fresh in a jar of water and changed daily. The pupae are formed hanging from the top of the cage and the foodplant. Even better is to sleeve the larvae on growing nettle. Be ready to move them to fresh food as soon as half the food supply has been eaten. Never leave moving the sleeve until most of the food has been consumed.