Aglais io

European peacock
On blackthorn at Otmoor, Oxfordshire, England
Underside
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Aglais
Species:
A. io
Binomial name
Aglais io
Subspecies
Synonyms[2]
List
  • Inachis io (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Inachis nigrolimbata Verity, 1950
  • Inachis oligoio Reuss, 1939
  • Nymphalis antigone Fischer de Waldheim
  • Nymphalis belisaria Oberthür, 1889
  • Nymphalis fischeri Standfuss
  • Nymphalis griseocellata Lempke, 1956
  • Nymphalis io (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Nymphalis ioides Ochsenheimer, 1807
  • Nymphalis sardoa Staudinger, 1871
  • Papilio io Linnaeus, 1758[1]
  • Papilio ioides Ochsenheimer, 1807
  • Vanessa astrida Derenne-Meyers, 1926
  • Vanessa basi-obscura Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa bimaculata Tempel, 1924
  • Vanessa calorefacta Urich, 1897
  • Vanessa cyanosticta Raynor, 1903
  • Vanessa dyophthalmica Garbini, 1883
  • Vanessa exmaculata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa exoculata Weymer, 1878
  • Vanessa extrema Fischer de Waldheim, 1898
  • Vanessa fulva Oudemans, 1905
  • Vanessa hackrayi Cabeau, 1925
  • Vanessa io (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Vanessa io subsp. ioides (Ochsenheimer, 1807)
  • Vanessa irenea Prüffer, 1921
  • Vanessa jo (Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Vanessa jocaste Urich, 1897
  • Vanessa lacteus Bandermann, 1935
  • Vanessa lucidocellata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa magnimaculata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa marginalis Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa marginimaculata-obscura Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa meilhani Frémont, 1926
  • Vanessa mesoides Reuss, 1910
  • Vanessa mesoides-brunnea Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa mesoides-clara Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa mesoides-lucidocellata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa mesoides-parvimaculata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa mesoides-sibirica Reuss, 1922
  • Vanessa mesoides-splendens Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa mesoides-viridiocellata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa narses Schultz, 1899
  • Vanessa nigrifasciata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa nigriocellata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa nigromaculata Kleinschmidt, 1929
  • Vanessa pallens Knoch, 1927
  • Vanessa pallida Tutt, 1896
  • Vanessa parvimaculata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa pavo Stichel, 1902
  • Vanessa prochnovi Pronin, 1928
  • Vanessa silaceus Bandermann, 1935
  • Vanessa teloides-brunnea Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa teloides-clara Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa teloides-lucidocellata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa teloides-nigrifasciata Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa teloides-splendens Reuss, 1911
  • Vanessa transparens Beuret, 1926

Aglais io, the European peacock,[3][4][5] or the peacock butterfly, is a colourful butterfly, found in Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan. It was formerly classified as the only member of the genus Inachis (the name is derived from Greek mythology, meaning Io, the daughter of Inachus[citation needed]). It should not be confused or classified with the "American peacocks" in the genus Anartia; while belonging to the same family as the European peacock, Nymphalidae, the American peacocks are not close relatives of the Eurasian species. The peacock butterfly is resident in much of its range, often wintering in buildings or trees. It therefore often appears quite early in spring. The peacock butterfly has figured in research in which the role of eyespots as an anti-predator mechanism has been investigated.[6] The peacock is expanding its range[3][7] and is not known to be threatened.[7]

  1. ^ a b Linnaeus, Carl; Salvius, Lars (1758). Caroli Linnaei...Systema naturae per regna tria naturae :secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (pdf) (in Latin). Holmiae : Impensis Direct. Laurentii Salvii. p. 472. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.542. OCLC 499504699. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  2. ^ "Aglais io (Linnaeus, 1758)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b Eeles, Peter. "Peacock - Aglais io". UK Butterflies. Retrieved 11 November 2010.
  4. ^ Aglais io, Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
  5. ^ The higher classification of Nymphalidae Archived 2009-02-20 at the Wayback Machine, Nymphalidae.net
  6. ^ Stevens, Martin (2005). "The role of eyespots as anti-predator mechanisms, principally demonstrated in the Lepidoptera". Biological Reviews. 80 (4): 573–588. doi:10.1017/S1464793105006810. PMID 16221330. S2CID 24868603. (Abstract)
  7. ^ a b "Peacock". A-Z of Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation. Archived from the original on 16 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.