Day 084/19. An early Peacock

A beautiful spring day today brought out the first real butterflies I have seen this year.
This perfect Peacock was sunning itself today on our flowering Pieris.
The Peacock's spectacular pattern of eyespots, evolved to startle or confuse predators, make it one of the most easily recognized and best known species. It is from these wing markings that the butterfly gained its common name. Undersides of the wings are very dark and look like dead leaves. The Peacock is a fairly large butterfly and a strong flyer.
Expect more butterflies from me this year.....