White Peacock Butterfly & Oakleaf Fleabane

This white peacock butterfly is (obviously) not a bird. I came across it on a day filled with bird photos, but this little butterfly, resting on top of some southern fleabane, was just special.

Oakleaf fleabane (also called southern fleabane) is a dainty, whimsical flower in the family Asteraceae. Flowers in this family are often where white peacocks can be found foraging.^[1] White peacock butterflies lay their eggs on water hyssop and frogfruit.^[2]

You can look for oakleaf fleabane flowers, which come in a variety of colors, in the spring and summer, as the plant goes dormant in the winter.^{[3, 4]} Native to Florida and several other southern states, the USDA's PLANT Database shows that oakleaf fleabane is a facultative plant in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain area, which means it can be found in wetlands and non-wetlands.^[5]

The Details

Common Name: White Peacock Butterfly

Scientific Name: Anartia jatrophae

Family: Nymphalidae

Seen: On southern fleabane found on the side of a small trail

Month: April

Common Name: Oakleaf / Southern Fleabane

Scientific Name: Erigeron quercifolius

Family: Asteraceae

Learn More About Oakleaf Fleabane & White Peacock Butterflies:

1. Florida Wildflower Foundation. (2020, September 30). White peacock.
2. Florida Museum. (n.d.). White peacock.
3. Florida Wildflower Foundation. (2022, April 22). Oakleaf fleabane.
4. Florida Native Plant Society. (n.d.). Erigeron quercifolius.
5. United States Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service. (n.d.). Erigeron quercifolius Lam. PLANTS Database.