John&Jacq~s Garden

Peacock Pansy came visiting again and again!

What a gorgeous creature this butterfly is!

Scientific name: Junonia almana javana
Common name: Peacock Pansy

Taxonomy:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Arthropoda
• Class: Insecta
• Order: Lepidoptera
• Family: Nymphalidae
• Subfamily: Nymphalinae
• Tribe: Nymphalini
• Genus: Junonia
• Species: J. almana javana

Range: India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia into China and Japan

Habitat: Overgrown patches, natures reserves or grassy plains

Food plants: Garden flowers such as Mimosa pudica, Aztec Marigold and species of Acanthaceae (such as Crossandra infundibuliformis, Pachystachys Lutea) and Verbenaceae (such as Lantana, Duranta repens)

Definitely an impressive looking butterfly! When I first set eyes on this marvelous beauty settling on some bougainvillea flowers outside my friend’s home about 2 months ago, I was disappointed with myself for not having a camera in hand! While waiting for other friends to arrive for a lunch outing, I mused that it’ll be great to see it in our garden one day as it’s only about a kilometer away from where we stood!

My hopeful wish was unbelievably answered on July 18 when it (hmm…was it the same one I saw?) flew in and I succeeded in capturing a few pictures!

Amazing, it fluttered around and intermittently rested on the Norfolk Island Pine, then on the Crossandra leaves and finally on the Lantana camara, spending almost 12 mins in our garden before it was contented to leave! Though none of the images displayed its fully opened wingspan, I was nevertheless very happy to have captured it at all! Having assumed that those were about all I could ever have, I painstakingly extracted the only image I had that showed its beautiful upperside wings (though only one-sided) and pasted onto another larger image of it resting on the Crossandra leaf. :D

Peacock Pansy has wingspan measuring about 5 – 6.5cm, deriving its common name from the prominent eye spots on both its front and hind wings. Each wing displays 2 eye spots with the spot on the upper margin of its hind wings much larger than the rest. It appears as if these eyes are meant to startle or scare predators! With attractive light tawny or bright orangy upperside and visibly beautiful spots, together with short dark brown bands on the upper margin of the forewings and 3 dark wavy lines circling its edges, it’s a sight to behold! Though its underside is fairly paler, it’s still attractive as is. I’m so delighted to be able to admire further their fantastic details from photos taken!

Incredible! This beautiful butterfly came visiting again and again for more of our Lantana camara when the flowers burst in full bloom! And, I had many opportunities to capture more and more of its fantastic appearances. How blessed, joyful and thankful I felt to be able to revel in its beauty! Thus, I’ve created a joyful collage of my wonderful encounters with this gorgeous Junonia almana javana to share here. Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! :)

Some extra info on Junonia almana if you’re interested.

Last edit: May 31, 2016

Tags: butterflies/moths, insects, our garden, wildlife