I. podalirius
         P. machaon
         P. aegeria
         M. didyma
         M. cinxia
         K. roxelana
         P. rapae
         S. pyri
         M. stellatarum

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Unless otherwise noted, all pictures on this site were taken in Pelion, Greece, shown on the map below.

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View images of the Common Toad, an ugly, bulky, but really sweet creature with an interesting... nightlife.

  Veggie of the Month

Learn about the Salsify, a beautiful plant, with edible and medicinal properties, that is currently blooming in Pelion.

  Cool Destination

Visit Mourtias, one of Pelion's most picturesque beaches on the Aegean coast.

  Exciting Site

Tour the Volos Archaeological Museum, a pretty century-old building, whose exhibits span a historical period of over 10 millennia!

  Month's Wallpaper

Download a fantastic picture of a rickety jetty in Lefokastron, Pelion, taken by Huw Jones.

Loading image. Please wait Giant Peacock Moth (Saturnia pyri), Spreading Wings :: 2003/05/01 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos Giant Peacock Moth (Saturnia pyri), Spreading Wings :: 2003/05/01 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos Giant Peacock Moth (Saturnia pyri), Mature Larva :: 2001/07/07 :: Horton :: © A.Papadopoulos No image! No image!

Giant Peacock Moth

Saturnia pyri

This is Europe's largest moth, with a wingspan of up to 15 cm (6 in). Adults fly by night and are often mistaken for bats, owing to their size.

Wings are gray and grayish-brown, edged with white and yellow, with a large eyespot in the middle of each wing. Sexes are very similar, although females tend to be somewhat larger.

The Giant Peacock Moth prefers open countryside and is often seen around orchards, where it will rest on tree trunks during the day.

 Larvae start off black, with red or orange rings. Fully-grown, fourth  instar larvae, such as the one depicted on this page, reach a length of 9 to 10 cm (3 1/2 to 3 9/10 in). They are yellowish-green with raised, sky-blue tubercles, which bear crowns of sharp, liquid-filled spines and long hairs. Hairs may have irritating properties, therefore larvae should be handled with care.

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Fact Sheet

Larva Food Plants
Mainly various fruit trees.

Flight Period
March - June; however, odd individuals are sometimes found in late autumn. In central Europe most are on the wing in mid to late May.

Habitat
Open countryside. Often seen in orchards.

Distribution
Limited to the warmer areas of Europe and the Near East, from northern France (rare), south through Luxembourg, western Switzerland, the Iberian Peninsula to coastal regions of Morocco and Algeria. Thence eastwards across southern Germany (rare), Austria, Hungary, the Balkans to the Ukraine. From there it extends southwards, across the Caucasus Mountains and Armenia to Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the Alborz and Zagros Mountains of Iran. It is also found on the Mediterranean islands of Crete, Corsica and Sardinia.


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Taxonomy


Superkingdom: Eukaryota; Kingdom: Metazoa; Phylum: Arthropoda; Superclass: Hexapoda; Class: Insecta; Subclass: Neoptera; Order: Lepidoptera; Family: Saturniidae; Genus: Saturnia; Species: pyri

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