Diet

• Adults: Feed primarily on flower nectar, visiting a variety of flowering herbs and shrubs. They may also obtain moisture and minerals from damp soil and other moist surfaces.

• Caterpillars: Feed on a variety of herbaceous plants, particularly in the Acanthaceae, with documented hosts including Bacopa, Ruellia, Justicia and Phyla.

• Adults frequently forage close to the ground and are particularly attracted to flowering plants growing in open, sunny habitats.

Range

• Anartia jatrophae is a widespread Neotropical butterfly, occurring from southern Texas and Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean and much of South America, reaching as far south as Argentina.

• It is generally common throughout much of its tropical and subtropical range.

• Around Zihua, Anartia jatrophae would likely be considered common to locally abundant, especially in open areas with moisture and suitable host plants.

Habitat

• The White Peacock favors open, sunny and relatively moist habitats, including pond and stream margins, wet ditches, weedy fields, pastures, parks and disturbed areas.

• It is often found in areas where its larval host plants grow in low, herbaceous vegetation.

• Around Zihua, suitable habitat includes stream margins, wet or seasonally moist areas, gardens, roadside vegetation, disturbed ground, tropical deciduous forest edges and grassy clearings.

Size

• The White Peacock is a medium-sized brush-footed butterfly, with a wingspan of approximately 51–70 mm.

• The upper wings are predominantly bright white, with light brown markings and a double row of pale marginal crescents.

• The forewing has one prominent black eyespot, while each hindwing has two black eyespots.

• The underside is considerably more cryptic, with pale cream, brown and reddish-brown wavy markings.

• Individuals can vary seasonally: the dry-season form tends to be larger and paler, while the wet-season form is generally smaller and darker.