Peacock butterfly (not in fact melanistic)

I had originally thought that the butterfly was melanistic, but it transpires that the underside of its wings are always black.  An excellent camouflage.


This butterfly flew into the water of our kitchen sink yesterday and was quickly rescued.  It was initially presumed dead, but eventually opened its wings - hence its identification as a peacock.

This morning it was moved outdoors to our window sill and I was able to take this photo.  I had to increase the exposure considerably to bring out the detail of the folded wings: to the eye it looks deep black.

The warmth this morning presumably gave it enough energy to fly, as it soon vanished.