Common Buckeye

Appearance

Upperside is brown. Forewing with 2 orange cell bars and 2 eyespots; part of white subapical band appears in the largest, lower eyespot. Hindwing has 2 eyespots; upper one is largest and contains a magenta crescent. Underside of hindwing is brown or tan in the wet season (summer) form and rose-red in the dry season (fall) form.

Caterpillar is highly variable in color, but usually "mostly black above and white and/or orange along sides with metallic blue-black dorsal spines. Spines along sides arise from orange wart-like bases. Head orange above with black bordering frons;short black scolus over each lobe...heavily salted with white tubercles."

Naming

Junonia coenia Hübner, 1822
Junonia coenia coenia Hübner, 1822
Junonia coenia grisea Austin and J. Emmel in T. Emmel, 1998
Junonia coenia weidenhammeri Polacek, 1925
Junonia coenia bergi Avinoff, 1926
Junonia coenia tf. f. wilhelmi Gunder, 1927
Precis coena [sic] f. rubrosuffusa Field, 1936
Precis coenia f. hiem. rosa Whittaker & Stallings, 1944
Papilio quinatzin Arias, 1968; (nom. nud.)

Species epithet probably from koinos (κοινος)- "common".
This species and its relatives were placed formerly in the genus "Precis".

Distribution

Resident in the southern United States and north along the coasts to central California and North Carolina; south to Bermuda, Cuba, Isle of Pines, and southern Mexico. Adults from the south's first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada. The sub-species "Junonia coenia bergi" is endemic to the island of Bermuda.

Status

G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Habitat

Its habitat is open areas with low vegetation and some bare ground.

Reproduction

Males perch during the day on low plants or bare ground to watch for females, flying periodically to patrol or to chase other flying insects. The female lays eggs singly on buds or the upper side of leaves. The caterpillars are solitary and feed on the foliage, flowers, and fruits of the host plant.

Prefered host plants are in the Plantaginaceae, Orobanchaceae, Acanthaceae. These include Antirrhinum (snapdragon), Linaria (toadflax), and Gerardia (syn. Agalinis), Plantago, and Ruellia. Larvae feed singly. Adults and some larvae overwinter in southern areas. The pupa may not have a resting phase, as in many other butterflies.

Food

Adults feed on nectar and also take fluids from mud and damp sand. Favorite nectar sources are composites including aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Dogbane, peppermint, and other flowers are also visited.

Larvae feed on leaves, flowers, and fruits of plants in the Acanthaceae, Orobanchaceae, and Plantaginaceae.

Predators

Adults eaten by dragonflies. Larvae infected by a parvovirus (Junonia coenia Densovirus).

Migration

Resident in the southern United States and north along the coasts to central California and North Carolina; south to Bermuda, Cuba, Isle of Pines, and southern Mexico. Adults from the south's first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada.

Cultural

The common buckeye was featured on the 2006 United States Postal Service 24-cent postage stamp.