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Peacock - Favourite Photo of 2020

Week 13

Well 2021 hasn’t started too well has it! Strange to think that it’s looking like a complete butterfly year could be spent whilst under some form of Restriction be it the Rule of 6 with Social Distancing up to a Full Lockdown. Oh well things do have to get worse before they can get better so let’s hope this is the worst that we’re experiencing now. Stay safe UKBers!

Also a prize to Dave Miller (millerd) for being the only person to notice and comment on the fact that I was still under the influence of the Xmas and New Year drinky-poos when I posted last week and totally missed out Peacock!

Please could I ask that everyone waits until a topic has been opened by me for a particular species before posting photos as then it will be easier to keep track of things? Of course our overseas members are very welcome to fill in the obvious gaps relating to rare UK migrants. As in previous years details of locations, dates, times and circumstances would be welcome as would any accompanying stories and anecdotes or other observations of behaviour and interesting other points.

Just a reminder - it might be a good idea to start selecting your Overall Favourite Butterfly Photo of 2020 now as we’re starting to draw to the grand finale.


Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

I spent a lot more time in my local wood, Aversley, last year due to the lockdown. 5th July

I seen my usual flurry of peacock butterflies either feeding on buddleia or basking on the walls in my garden in Aberdeen. All photos taken between 11th August and 19th September in my Aberdeen garden with a couple taken out at Drum Castle on Deeside. I never get tired of watching these guys when they come visiting.

A particularly good spring for this species, combined with lockdown meaning I was unable to go chasing rarer spring species further afield, meant I saw an awful lot of these and managed to come across females ovipositing on two separate occasions. I've plumped for this image as a favourite, I like the detail of the hairs on her ovipositor, presumable they aid in her ability to make sure she lays all the eggs in a clump.

An excellent year for this species in my neck of the woods with large quantities of caterpillars found throughout.

Last year was a great year in my garden for Peacocks, at least they thrived where has, we ,were enclosed I saw them from March, with a brief break in the late Spring then again in the Summer. Goldie

Peacock were relatively abundant in my Cambridgeshire garden in 2020. The patches of nettles hosted several batches of eggs which resulted in double figures of adults in late July feeding on the Buddleia and Creeping Thistle flowers. However, the photographs I have selected are of the first two adults I saw in March, because like the Orange Tip, an early Peacock on a sunny day is a highlight of the season.

Aah! Peacocks on blackthorn blossom. One of my favourite sights of the butterfly year. Hopefully only 12 weeks or so till we can enjoy the spectacle once more.

Peacocks were out in good numbers at the Sweet track Shapwick Heath, NNR.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com

The Sweet Track.
https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/p57 ... #hf4173078

Lots of Peacocks came out of hibernation around my local spots and gave me plenty of opportunity for some of my favourite 'butterfly on blossom' shots.
The follow on summer brood was also very numerous around here with the best emergence for a few years.
There were also many larval webs to be seen through May and June which went on to produce the fantastic summer numbers in July.
Cheers,

Neil.

Peacock

There were a couple of shots of Peacocks that I really liked and I was struggling over which one to opt for so I gave up and asked Little L which one was her Favourite shot. Luckily she chose one from my set of contenders so that was settled. So here is both my and Little L’s Favourite Peacock shot.
It was taken at Five Rivers during some daily Exercise. I chose it because I love the way that the light caught the dark ground colour changing it from dark brown almost black to a chocolate brown fading to a golden hue. Just lovely!
Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Absolutely stunning photos on this thread!

I saw a ridiculous amount of Peacocks this year and am still seeing them monthly now (I have 13 in hibernation in a garage). I also bred some from caterpillars rescued from a pair of marauding Blackbirds that were picking them off one by one as they left the nettle patch to find a pupation site. This was the first time I had done this since being a lad and I loved it. So I have a lot of images!

I recorded 639 adult Peacocks last year, plus a lot of larval nests. They seem to have had a superb year. Both my first and last sightings were at Magdalen Hill Down: 21st March and 11th October respectively. My highest count was 50 on 11th July, in West Wood, near Winchester.

I have opted for a video though, rather than a photo. This was one of the Peacocks I rescued in the summer, freshly emerged and prior to release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP1f-UkMdHg

Well done for rescuing those larvae, Lee. You certainly had a nice reward in return judging by that footage.

David M wrote: ↑Sun Jan 17, 2021 7:59 pm Well done for rescuing those larvae, Lee. You certainly had a nice reward in return judging by that footage.

I certainly, did, David! It was a magical experience and one I hope to repeat this year. I also have an Orange-tip pupa in the garage

March 12th 2020 11:19am, Lincolnshire.
By March 12th, I had not seen a Peacock butterfly on the wing yet.
This picture was taken in an underground bunker where air temperatures were cool and not fluctuating much in weather app lunchtime, sunshine warmth.
That meant, the Peacock was still hibernating and not in a temporary, rough weather roost. The picture was taken when the internal light was turned on (which didn't appear to disturb it).
I agree with many of you that it seemed to be a good year for the life cycle of the Peacock. For example, I saw many butterflies while working on an allotment near the end of March and April, when weather had warmed further. I thought that people start to notice them in afternoon, lunchtime warmth, when general weather app. temperatures were predicted above 15ºC, allowing for some extra micro-climatic direct sunlight warmth, in those sheltered, direct sunlit places. As you might understand, because of those variables, my science wasn't exact. It wasn't so much fun in looking for them on the wing, if one was not going to see one, anyway, unless one was disturbed, (which was nothing much to celebrate, within "Butterfly Conservation"). A science here was to set up a micro climatic, local air temperature, accurate thermometer, without influencing the temperature oneself or disturbing a butterfly, then use time-lapse technology, similar to that of pupa emergence, or motion sesnsor triggered cameras, to accurately record local temperature on hibernation emergence (Butterfly flying towards the light). It was guessed, that most Peacock butterfly populations responded in the same way, to similar local temperature increases.
Kind Regards,
PS. The best purpose built hibernating places had dark looking entrances to attract the butterfly from a lighter space and once entered, did not trap a butterfly on a window, when it was time to leave, flying towards a light source, that might have changed position slightly, according to the direction of sunlight, from the apparent position of the sun in the sky.

Despite there being good numbers in spring, I hardly took any images of this species.

Probably my favourite was this individual seen basking on the sand on the NW Gower coast on 22nd March:

I also saw many larval nests last year but I wonder what percentage of caterpillars survived to imago stage, although it was a good year. I have for the past few years picked up half a dozen caterpillars to raise with my granddaughter. We usually have the odd one die due to a parasite. Last year I picked up 22 of those only 8 survived. Two parasites mostly a small smooth grey cocoon with a white band and two a yellow fuzzy elongated cocoon.

A visitor to my garden, to which most of my butterfly watching was confined during the 2020 pandemic.
Mike

Didn't see that many Peacocks in 2020 as I would've expected . This one was taken at Box hill which turned out to be a good site for many of my butterfly photos Phil

The eyes have it.

https://jamesgibbs6929.zenfolio.com/