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| Common Buckeye |
Latin
Name: Junonia coenia |
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Genus: Junonia Species: coenia |
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Comments: |
| The Common Buckeye is one of the most easily identified butterflies. Its large, target-shaped eyespots help deflect predation away from the insects' vulnerable body. It is fond of open, sunny locations with low-growing vegetation. Adults frequently alight on bare soil or gravel but are extremely wary and difficult to approach. Males readily establish territories and actively investigate passing objects. Flight is rapid and low to the ground. Unable to withstand freezing temperatures in any life stage, the Buckeye annually undertakes a southward fall migration and overwinters in warmer Gulf Coast locations including Florida. |
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Life
Cycle: |
Broods: |
multiple generations, overwinters as adult |
Egg: |
dark green, laid singly on host leaves |
Larva: |
black with lateral white stripes, orange patches and branched spines |
Host Plants: |
plants in many families including toadflax, False Foxglove, plantain and twinflower |
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Host
Plants: |
Host
Plants: |
plants in many families including toadflax, False Foxglove, plantain and twinflower |
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Habitat: |
Habitat: |
fields, pastures, roadsides, pineland, disturbed sites |
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Wingspan: |
Inches: |
1.5 - 2.7 |
Centimeters: |
3.8 - 6.9 |
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Appearance: |
Sexes: |
similar, although female has broader wings and larger hindwing eyespots |
Compare: |
Mangrove Buckeye is often larger and has pale orange dorsal forewing bands. |
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| Markings: |
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Above:
- brown with prominent eyespots; forewing bears a distinct white patch and two small orange bars
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Below:
- forewing has prominent white band; hindwings seasonally variable in color; summer forms are light brown with numerous pattern elements; cool-season forms are reddish brown with reduced markings
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Abundance: |
occasional to locally common, abundant in fall |
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Map Legend: Resident (green) | Stray
(Red) |
