Peacock butterfly

The peacock butterfly occurs in temperate regions of Europe and Asia, with a range that extends from Britain and Ireland eastwards through Russia to eastern Siberia, the Korean peninsula and Japan. It is absent from northern Scandinavia and southern parts of Spain and Portugal. It also occurs in temperate regions of Turkey and northern Iran, and has been recorded at elevations of up to 2,500 metres. It is sometimes known as the European peacock, to distinguish it from another butterfly, from a completely different family, that occurs in North America.