Leijpark013

@leijpark013 · 29 Sep 2023

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Leijpark 013 Peacock

Written by Thierry P. Dinjens ·

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When we talk about butterflies, one of the most beautiful in our regions is surely the Peacock. This brightly colored butterfly is often found in the home in the cold months, as it overwinters in sheltered, frost-free areas. When the sun shines in February, the Peacock will appear as one of the first butterflies. To survive, she uses two types of mimicry (in this case, fooling predators by pretending to be different).
Her natural enemies are mice and birds. When she keeps her wings closed, it is almost invisible; it looks like a dead leaf and when it hangs in the attic of, for example, a shed in the winter, it merges into the shadows. When a mouse does get too close, it makes a frightening hissing sound. When a bird sees her as a tasty meal, she uses the top of her wings. She opens them and the 'eyes' on her lower wings become visible, as if a predator with big blue eyes suddenly appears and wants to eat the bird. This scares off the bird and so the butterfly is spared. And if there is a fearless bird that dares to bite, the bird will instinctively gasp at the butterfly's head. However, the mechanism of birds includes the fact that the eyes are in the head. So in fact, the bird gasps at a wing and the real head of the butterfly springs from the dance. That's why we sometimes see butterflies with a bite out of the wing. That seems sad, but life is a lot easier without a wing (a butterfly has four) than without a head.
As autumn progresses, there are fewer and fewer flowers. The butterflies then switch to rotting fruit to extract their sugars and stock up enough to eat in the winter. And that's exactly what we can contribute: In the cold months, don't throw your apple rose in the trash, but in a fixed spot in your garden and peacock eyes (and atalantas) will love it.
In the Leijpark, we also regularly see a Peacock. Although the butterfly is certainly not rare, there are years, like this year, when there are few butterflies. Fortunately, the necessary caterpillars of the Peacock have already been seen this year. The butterfly does not have that many requirements; only the nettles in the Leijpark must be present. This is because the caterpillars live on nettles. The adult butterflies are found (of course) on butterfly bushes, marigold and in autumn on the blossoms of the ivy that only blooms very late. Then, when autumn is well underway and the cold winter is around the corner, the butterfly crawls into hollow trees or, in your home, somewhere dry. Hibernation begins and is dead silent, almost invisible, the Peacock waits for the arrival of spring. Then she will mate, lay eggs and die. As adults, butterflies live very short lives, usually only a few weeks or even days, but the Peacock is an exception. She can live for many months, while spending a few months asleep.
In fact, she finds everything she likes in the Leijpark: food, shelter, winter spots, safety and sunshine. This beautiful survival artist is a true jewel for the Leijpark. And all we have to do is leave a few nettles alone. If it's that simple, who else complains about a few shots?

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