Junonia coenia, Common Buckeye

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Freshly emerged male

Description: 18-28 mm. This is the most common and widespread of the Buckeyes in North America. This is a brown butterfly with two red spots on forewing and three pairs of eye spots on the wings and an orange bar on the hindwing. They can be identified by the cream colored bar on the forewing that almost completely encloses the eyespot on the forewing. They also have enlarged eyespots on the hindwing.

Habitat and Distribution: Widespread and common in many habitats throughout the United States and Mexico. They inhabit weedy fields and roadsides and along forest edges. They are most common in the Keys on the Island Big Pine Key but can be found in just about all of the Keys.

Host Plant: (Agalinus sps.) and (Buchnera floridana) are suspected host plants in the Keys

Natural History: This is a very common species but not readily found in the Keys.