Picture of the day

Aglais io, commonly known as the European peacock, is a colourful butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, found in Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan. It is resident in much of its range, often wintering in buildings or trees, and therefore often appears quite early in spring. The butterfly lays its eggs in batches of up to 400 at a time, with caterpillars hatching after about a week. These are shiny black with six rows of barbed spikes and a series of white dots on each segment. At the end of this phase they form a chrysalis which is either grey, brown or green, and may have a blackish tinge. This A. io caterpillar on a stinging nettle was photographed in Ruggeller Riet, Liechtenstein.Photograph credit: Charles J. Sharp