21 Common Buckeye

Junonia coenia

Characteristics

Wingspan: 1.77–2.76 in (45–70 mm).

Flight season: May–October.

Nectar sources: Very varied.

Habitat: Open areas with bare ground.

With its wings spread, this is a stunning butterfly. Each brown forewing has a large and a small eyespot—presumably to deter predators—and two orange bars. Each hind wing, also mostly brown, has another two eyespots. The females are larger than the males. Buckeyes are resident in the Deep South of the United States and in much of Mexico, with adults from the year’s first brood migrating north in late spring to temporarily colonize regions to the north, as far as southern Canada east of the Rockies and northern California to the west.

Adults are attracted to a wide range of flowers to feed on nectar, including thistles, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and sunflowers. Males perch on low vegetation or bare earth, on the lookout for passing females. After mating, females lay eggs singly on the top of the leaves or leaf buds of plants such as false foxgloves, toadflax, and plantains, which the caterpillars will eat later. Several generations are produced each year. Caterpillars and adults overwinter in the south but cannot survive the winter farther north.