Peacock butterfly - Peacock butterfly (English spelling)

Japanese: クジャクチョウ(孔雀蝶) - クジャクチョウ（英語表記）peacock butterfly

An insect of the Nymphalidae family of the Lepidoptera order (illustration). It is one of the representative species of the Palearctic region, distributed from England to Japan. Its wingspan is about 5.5 cm. The upper surface of the wings is red with a large eye-like pattern on each of the forewing and hindwing, which resembles the tail feathers (upper tail coverts) of a peacock. Females are slightly larger and rounder, and the red base color of the wings is not as vivid as that of the males. The underside is black as soot. They are common in low mountain areas east of central Honshu, and can also be found on the plains of Hokkaido. In Japan, they occur two to three times a year and overwinter as adults. The larvae feed mainly on Chinese lupin and hops in Honshu, and on nettles in Hokkaido, but the same is true in Europe.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

鱗翅目タテハチョウ科の昆虫（イラスト）。イギリスから日本まで分布する旧北区の代表種の一つである。開張は5.5cm内外。翅の表面は赤い地に大きな眼状紋が前･後翅に1個ずつあり，この紋がクジャクの尾羽(上尾筒)を連想させる。雌はやや大型で丸みを帯び，翅の赤い地色は雄ほど鮮やかでない。裏面はすすのように黒い。本州中部以東の低山地に多く，北海道では平地にも産する。日本では年2～3回発生し，成虫で越冬する。幼虫の食草は本州ではカラハナソウとホップ，北海道ではイラクサ類が主であるが，ヨーロッパでも同じである。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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