Complete Guide To The Common Buckeye Butterfly
As you might guess from this butterfly’s common name “Common Buckeye”, Junonia coenia is an easy butterfly to find in North Carolina. But “easy” doesn’t mean “boring”, and this species is well worth your time to observe.
Common Buckeye butterflies are large butterflies, with wingspans up to 2.7 inches (68 mm). Found throughout North Carolina, they are easily recognizable thanks to several large, vivid, multi-colored eyespots, two orange forewing bars, and a habit of perching on open ground with wings outstretched.
Common Buckeyes have several characteristics that endear them to me. Even after all the years I’ve spent chasing butterflies in the field, I still get excited about spotting one of these brush-footed butterflies.
First, at least in my experience, they are so easy to find in the wild, especially compared to some other butterfly species. Adults fly for a long time. Their flight season extends from late March through November in North Carolina, thanks to our state’s mild winters. Also, they feed on a wide variety of weeds and wildflowers. Many of their food plants grow in exactly the kind of areas nature enthusiasts spend time in, such as fields, meadows, gardens, and near open stands of pine.
Second, they are immediately identifiable in the field (which I appreciate) and great fun to observe. While definitely not as colorful as many other butterflies, the large eye spots on their wings are dramatic and easy to see from a distance. These eye spots might help these insects recognize others of their species or startle potential predators or both.
Regardless of the survival advantage these eye spots give Buckeyes, I think these butterflies are mesmerizing. The longer I stare at their wing spots, the deeper and more colorful they look.
Third, I think they are so much easier to photograph compared to other species – which is no small consideration to an amateur naturalist like myself! Many butterflies are challenging to photograph because they flutter around so much and so quickly. I’ve chased so many butterflies all over the place with only burrs and blurry pictures to show for my efforts.
Not so with Common Buckeyes. This species loves to perch out in the open. They even alight on rocks or gravel where they stand out beautifully against the background.
And they stay put!
I can’t tell you how many times a Common Buckeye has rescued an otherwise completely unsuccessful creature-spotting excursion for me by landing mere feet away and remaining motionless for minutes. I know I shouldn’t anthropomorphize, but I feel like these butterflies pose for me. They seem to wait patiently while I adjust my camera settings and get some shots. Then they flit casually off, always with my sincere thanks.
Fun Facts About Common Buckeye Butterflies To Wow Your Friends
- Common Buckeye caterpillars eat so many different kinds of plants that they can help control weeds in home gardens (Bartlett Wright 1993).
- Common Buckeye butterflies are cold-sensitive and fly south to the southern United States during the winter. They mostly travel along river valleys and re-colonize the northern reaches of their range every spring.
- Male Common Buckeye butterflies are territorial and often fly out to meet moving objects. This trait, along with a liking for perching on bare ground, helps make these butterflies easy to observe from a distance. However, they are wary and likely to fly off when approached.
- Planting snapdragons in your home garden can attract Common Buckeye butterflies, as these cultivated annuals are part of the plantain family Plantaginaceae.
How Are Common Buckeye Butterflies Classified?
Kingdom | Animalia |
Phylum | Arthropoda |
Class | Insecta |
Order | Lepidoptera |
Family | Nymphalidae (“brushfoots”) (subfamily Nymphalinae “true brushfoots”) |
Genus species | Junonia coenia |
Common Buckeye butterflies (also called simply โBuckeyesโ) belong to the โbrushfoot butterflyโ family Nymphalidae, which contains more species worldwide than any other butterfly family. Approximately 3000 brush-foot butterfly species live worldwide, around 160 of which live in, or visit, North America (Pyle 1981).
Butterflies classified in this family have reduced front legs, which makes them appear to have only four legs at first glance. The front legs look like little brushes (thus the family name) and the butterflies don’t walk on them.
How Do I Know I’m Looking at a Common Buckeye Butterfly?
Appearance of Common Buckeye Butterfly Eggs:
Female Common Buckeye butterflies lay dark green, ribbed eggs that have flat tops (Pyle 1981).
Appearance of Common Buckeye Butterfly Caterpillars / Larvae
A Common Buckeye caterpillar is black and spiny, with orange prolegs. Its grows to approximately 1.8 inches (45 mm). Its head is orange, spotted with white tubercles, and is black around what looks like the nose area of its face (technically known as the “frons”). A branched, black spine sprouts from each lobe of its head (Wagner 2005).
Its body has four lengthwise rows of spots; two rows of orange spots along the caterpillar’s back and a row of cream spots along both sides. Its metallic blue-black spines are branched and have colorful bases; blue for the spines covering the back, and orange for those projecting from the back (Bartlett Wright 1993).
Common Buckeye chrysalids are usually 1 inch long (25 mm) (Pyle 1981) and are cream-colored, with light rust brown markings. But their appearance can vary. Sometimes, they are nearly black (Bartlett Wright 1993).
Appearance of Adult Common Buckeye Butterflies
Common Buckeye butterflies are medium-sized brush-foots, growing between 1.5 to 2.7 inches (38 – 68mm) across. Their bodies are furry and brown, although in some lights, the brown shades into violet. Their antennae are brown and have clubbed tips. Males and females look similar, although females tend to be slightly larger and have larger wing patterns (Daniels 2003).
Both the upper and lower wing surfaces show the same coloration and pattern. The upper wing surface is deep brown and orange while the under surface is more muted in shades of tan and rust. Wing spots show on both surfaces, with muted color on the under surface.
Field Mark: Orange Wing Bars
Common Buckeye butterflies sport a pair of bright orange wing bars on the leading edge of their fore wings.
Field Mark: Prominent Wing Spots
A series of four prominent eye spots on the upper surface of their wings distinguish Common Buckeye butterflies.
Each fore and hind wing has two eye spots, one small and one quite large. On the fore wing, the smallest eye spot comes first (looking from head to abdomen), followed by the larger spot. This pattern reverses on the hind wing, with the largest spot located closer to the leading edge of the wing.
A series of concentric rings form patterns that look remarkably like eyes, complete with irises, pupils, and even light shine.
The eye spots are intricate. Their centers are a combination of rust, creamy white, lavender, and velvety black. This combination of colors against the off-center black looks amazingly like a pupil with a dilated iris staring straight at you.
When Can I Find Common Buckeye Butterflies?
Adult Common Buckeye butterflies fly from late March to late November. They can’t withstand freezing temperatures, so individuals in the northern part of their extensive range fly south in the fall. Some may overwinter in North Carolina during exceptionally warm winters but most of the time, they spend the winter months in the Gulf Coast states, like Florida (Daniels 2003).
Where Should I Look to Find Common Buckeye Butterflies?
Look for these butterflies in open, disturbed areas. Roadsides, power line cuts, old fields, and gardens are good bets. Common Buckeye butterflies seem to like the edges of pine woods as well.
Look for Buckeye caterpillars where their food plants grow, such as:
- Bogs, marshes, moist meadows, roadsides (Figwort family Scrophulariaceae)
- Disturbed areas, roadsides, open, moist woods, rocky crevices (Stonecrop family Crassulaceae)
- Moist woods, thickets, sandy areas, shorelines (Vervain or Verbena family Verbenaceae)
What Do Common Buckeye Butterflies Eat?
Common Buckeye Butterfly Larval Food Plants
Common Buckeye caterpillars feed on a wide variety of North Carolina host plants, especially those classified in the following families (Pyle 1981):
- Figwort (family Scrophulariaceae):
- Woolly Mullein (Verbascum thapsus)
- Beard Tongue (Penstemon canescens)
- Toadflax (Linaria canadensis)
- Speedwell (Veronica persica)
- False Foxglove (Aureolaria pedicularia)
- Downy Foxglove (Aureolaria virginiaca)
- Stonecrop (family Crassulaceae):
- Mossy Stonecrop (Sedum acre)
- Stonecrop (Sedum ternatum)
- Live Forever (Sedum telephioides)
- Vervain or Verbena (family Verbenaceae):
- Beauty Berry (Callicarpa americana)
- Lopseed (Phryma leptostachya)
- Rose Vervain (Verbena canadensis)
- Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
Adult Common Buckeye Butterfly Food
Adult Common Buckeye butterflies feed on nectar from a variety of flowering plants, especially Tickseed (Bidens aristosa) (Opler 1994).
Where To Go From Here
Join the conversation! Please share your experiences, knowledge, or observations in the comments.
References
Bartlett Wright, Amy. 1993. Peterson First Guides: Caterpillars. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Daniels, Jaret C. 2003. Butterflies of the Carolinas. Cambridge, MN: Adventure Publications, Inc.
Glassberg, Jeffrey. 1999. Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Eastern North America. New York, NY. Oxford University Press.
Niering, William A. and Olmstead, Nancy C. 2001. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers: Eastern Region. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.
Opler, Paul A. 1994. Peterson First Guide to Butterflies and Moths. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
Pyle, Robert Michael. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies: North America. New York, NY. Alfred A. Knopf.
Wagner, David L., 2005. Princeton Field Guides: Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.