Nymphalidae Nymphalinae Nymphalini Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758) Peacock Butterfly Inachis Io The Vanessa I, or peacock's eye (I Inachis Linnaeus, 1758) is well known and colorful butterfly family Nymphalidae, an inhabitant of the temperate zones of Europe and Asia. It is the only species of the genus Inachis by some authors considered synonymous Nymphalis. Its specific epithet refers to Io, a priestess of Juno's legendary beauty. Larva The caterpillar is shiny black, with white dots on each segment and provided with six rows of dorsal spines. Adult It has a wingspan of up to 60-70 mm. The dorsal surface of the wings is red brick with tending to brown edges. The four corners are adorned with colorful spots glaring eyeball. These spots, called ocelli, have a protective function against predators [1]. The ventral surface is instead of a brown-black for easy camouflaging. Distribution and habitats [edit] The Vanessa is widespread in the temperate zones of Europe and Asia to Japan. In Italy it is quite common in almost all regions. Can meet in the woods, fields, meadows, pastures, parks and gardens from the plains up to 2500 meters. Biology I Inachis caterpillars that feed on nettle leaves. This butterfly spends the winter in hibernation before placing groups of 500 eggs at a time, in early spring. The caterpillars hatch after about a week and feed on nettles and hops. Spend most of their development in many communities, become lonely only the last stage of growth before dell'incrisalidamento. The flickering occurs between June and July. The adults suck the nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants such as Buddleja, willows, dandelions, wild marjoram, elder, water hemp and clover, is not above the tree sap and rotten fruit. Good day and good weekend Thanks for the comments and the favourites of previous image