EARLY Peacock Butterfly Inachis io 10 larvae
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EARLY Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)
Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell populations are seriously depleted recently, due to the butterflies waking in the mild winter and dying of starvation. This is a a chance to help local Peacock populations.
The larvae live in tight clusters on the tips of nettle. Young larvae do best on potted nettle. Keep the pots outside until needed indoors for the first larvae. 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.
Keeping two species of larvae together on the same foodplant? It is sometimes possible, but their way of life may differ and we recommend keeping them separately.
