This marker on the Cambridge Butterfly Trail is at Empty Common community garden – see the map above.

The Peacock butterfly is one of the UK’s most spectacular and recognisable butterflies, famed for its vivid red wings adorned with four mesmerising blue-and-black ‘eyespots’ that deter predators by mimicking vertebrate eyes.

With a wingspan of 63 to 69mm, it feeds on nectar mainly from buddleia, thistles, dandelions from spring right through to autumn, and feeds on sap or fallen fruit to provide energy for winter hibernation.

Typically emerging in early spring after overwintering as an adult in sheds, hollow trees or walls, it produces one brood annually, with caterpillars feeding communally on nettles in spring and early summer.

Its range continues to expand northwards, aided by both climate warming and our garden plantings. Despite resilience, habitat connectivity and nettle patches remain essential to support its lifecycle and encourage this bold beauty in our green spaces.

For more information, please visit Butterfly Conservation’s page on this species – Peacock.