Bug FAQWhite Peacock
Anartia jatrophae · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: White Peacock Butterfly
The white peacock butterfly lives in the southeastern US, Central America and much of South America. Its caterpillars feed on several water-hyssop and frogfruit species as well as Carolina wild petunia. Males guard territories about 15 m across that contain these host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The larvae use water hyssop, lemon bacopa, tropical waterhyssop, frogfruit, lanceleaf frogfruit, and Carolina wild petunia as host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on water hyssop, lemon bacopa, tropical waterhyssop, frogfruit, lanceleaf frogfruit, and Carolina wild petunia.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Males defend a roughly 15-meter-diameter area that holds host plants, perching and repelling rivals.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes the southeastern US, Central America and much of South America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Alabama, Arizona, North Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anartia_jatrophae
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.