Peacock Butterfly (Inachis io)

An outrageously beautiful butterfly.  They look dark when on the wing.  Often rest with their wings open, as this one was doing in the garden this morning.  When newly emerged, as this one surely is, the colours are incredibly bright - but they fade with age and the ones that emerge in the spring after hibernating are sometimes quite scruffy and almost drab.

They lay their eggs on nettles.  This one seemed to have a particular attraction to a large bed of Silverweed.
Carl