White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae)

White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae (Linnaeus, 1763))

Scientific name: Anartia jatrophae (Linnaeus, 1763)
Common name: White Peacock
French name: Nymphale cendrée, Paon blanc, Papillon de la Jatropha.
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Rhopalocera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Wingspan: 51 to 70 mm. Butterflies of the dry season are larger than the ones of the rain season.
Biotope: Open places, parks and gardens, clearings, river banks.
Geographic area: South-east of the United States, Central America, the Caribbean. Suriname, Guiana, Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina in South America.
Flight time: All year round.
Number of generations :
Caterpillar: Black with white silvery spots and branched spines which can turn to orange. The head bears two pointing forwards thorns with clubbed tips.
Host plant: Numerous host plants including Blechum, Ruellia and other Acanthaceae, Bacopa and Lindernia ( Scrophulariacae ) and Lippia ( Verbenaceae ).

The White Peacock shows fore wings with a concave outer edge and hind wings with a festooned outer edge.
The white wings show pale grey and pale brown markings.
There are two rows of slightly orange-coloured crescents next to the outer margin.
The fore wings bear a large black round central spot. The hind wings bear two smaller black round spots.
The pattern on the underside of the hind wings is similar to the pattern on the upper side with pinkish marks. The colours are duller.

White Peacock (Anartia jatrophae) - French Guiana, France - March 10th 2012

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