Common Buckeye
Common Buckeye
Junonia coenia
Insecta
COMMON

Stats

Lifespan
A few weeks
Size
Medium
Diet
Herbivore
Activity
Diurnal
Social
Solitary
Biome
Temperate grassland
Range
North America
Movement
Flight
Breeding
Egg-laying
Defense
Warning Colors
Status
Common

About

The Common Buckeye is instantly recognizable by its dramatic eyespots — large circular markings with blue centers and vivid orange rings that startle and deter birds. It thrives in open, sunny habitats across much of North America and migrates southward each autumn.

Life cycle

  1. 1.
    egg
    A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
  2. 2.
    caterpillar
    A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
  3. 3.
    chrysalis
    A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
  4. 4.
    butterfly
    A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Nymphalidae
Genus
Junonia
Species
Junonia coenia