In ancient civilizations, butterflies saw a symbol of the soul that has reached enlightenment, therefore in ancient Greece the butterfly was called Psyche. In the surviving images, the goddess Psyche flutters on the wings like a butterfly. The legends of butterflies are full of traditions of all the peoples of the earth. And everywhere it is associated with souls - both among Catholics, Buddhists, and among the inhabitants of New Zealand or Zaire. When the ancient Slavs saw the butterfly, they didn’t just admire its beauty, but welcomed a pure, dead soul in it. In the night butterflies they saw the souls of the suffering dead. In this regard, the peacock eye butterfly can be viewed with particular interest.
First of all, this butterfly will not leave anyone indifferent due to its beauty. On its wings clearly visible spots resembling patterns of bright plumage of a peacock tail. This colorful, iridescent decoration is at the same time a secret weapon that preserves her life. The main enemy of these beauties is birds. As soon as a peacock butterfly falls into the field of view of this winged predator, it opens its wings, and the bird, seeing such a beautiful and shiny spot on its wings, freezes for a while. Perhaps she is frightened, perhaps she is surprised. This is enough for the butterfly to flutter and fly away from a dangerous enemy.
In our places, different species of these butterflies are found in forests and swamps, among thickets of heather and nettle. Typically, their wingspan reaches three and a half centimeters, but the Viennese or night butterflies of this species, which are also found in our country, differ in that they have a wingspan of thirteen to fifteen centimeters. One of the largest butterflies of this genus is the diurnal peacock eye butterfly or Indian peacock-eye. Its wingspan reaches twenty-five centimeters. During the flight, inexperienced people take this harmless creature for a bird and even get scared sometimes.
The peacock eye butterfly, like all other butterflies, coming out of hibernation, arranges nests with eggs on the apple or ash leaves in the thickets of nettles or ash leaves, from which a family of black gluttonous caterpillars appears with spikes and decorations from white dots and lines. Having emerged from the eggs, the caterpillars very quickly creep onto the most tender shoots of plants and begin to eat them.
Unusual coloring and bright “peacock” stain do not allow confusing this butterfly with any other, but this is not the only beauty feature. The color of the wings and the brightness of the color depends on the temperature conditions under which the formation of the pupa took place. The peacock eye is a butterfly that adapts very well to
habitat. For example, her doll takes on a color exactly the same as the color of the object on which it is located.
For wintering, the peacock eye butterfly chooses attics of buildings or hollow trees, mountain caves or basements of houses. After wintering from late June to mid-July, butterflies flutter and mate in order to lay eggs. And already in August, a new young generation appears.