Junonia coenia
Encyclopedia
The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae
. It is found in southern Manitoba
, Ontario
, Quebec
, and Nova Scotia
and all parts of the United States
except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia
. The sub-species Junonia coenia bergi is endemic to the island of Bermuda.
Its habitat is open areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. This species and its relatives were placed formerly in the genus Precis.
family (Scrophulariaceae
). These include snapdragon (Antirrhinum
), toadflax (Linaria
), and Gerardia
. Caterpillars also feed on plants of the plantain family, such as Plantago
; and the Acanthus
family including ruellia (Ruellia nodiflora). Larvae feed singly. Adults and some larvae overwinter in southern areas. The pupa may not have a resting phase (diapause
), as in many other butterflies.
The Common Buckeye was featured on the 2006 United States Postal Service 24-cent postage stamp.
Nymphalidae
The Nymphalidae is a family of about 5,000 species of butterflies which are distributed throughout most of the world. These are usually medium sized to large butterflies. Most species have a reduced pair of forelegs and many hold their colourful wings flat when resting. They are also called...
. It is found in southern Manitoba
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
and all parts of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
except the northwest, and is especially common in the south, the California coast, and throughout Central America and Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
. The sub-species Junonia coenia bergi is endemic to the island of Bermuda.
Its habitat is open areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. This species and its relatives were placed formerly in the genus Precis.
Description
The bold pattern of eyespots and white bars on the upper wing surface is distinctive in much of its range, though compare related species in the same genus. (These are Mangrove Buckeye, Junonia evarete and Tropical Buckeye, Junonia genoveva, formerly considered one species, the Smoky Buckeye, Junonia evarete.) The eyespots likely serve to startle or distract predators, especially young birds. The species has many flights throughout the year, with mostly northward migrations for the summer. Much of the northern United States is only colonized in the fall from southern populations. Some of the later broods move southwards in the fall. Common buckeyes exhibit seasonal polyphenism, the summer version of the butterfly has light yellowish ventral wings and is called "linea". The Fall morph has pink ventral wings, and is called the "rosa" morph.Diet
Adults feed on nectar and also take fluids from mud and damp sand. Males perch on bare ground or low plants, occasionally patrolling in search of females, but they are not territorial. 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. A variety of (typically) herbaceous plants are used, including especially plants in the snapdragonSnapDragon
SnapDragon is a contemporary jazz band based in San Antonio, Texas. The group released their debut CD, "Stealing a Moment" on Humbug Records in 2008, and the 10-song CD soon broke the Top 100 in U.S radio airplay...
family (Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Scrophulariaceae, the figwort family, are a family of flowering plants. The plants are annual or perennial herbs with flowers with bilateral or rarely radial symmetry. Members of the Scrophulariaceae have a cosmopolitan distribution, with the majority found in temperate areas, including...
). These include snapdragon (Antirrhinum
Antirrhinum
Antirrhinum is a genus of plants commonly known as snapdragons from the flowers' fancied resemblance to the face of a dragon that opens and closes its mouth when laterally squeezed...
), toadflax (Linaria
Linaria
Linaria is a genus of about 100 species of herbaceous annuals and perennials that was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae...
), and Gerardia
Gerardia
Gerardia L. is a genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae. It was once used as the generic name for the genus Agalinis, but based on the rules of the ICBN it is an illegitimate later homonym of Gerardia L...
. Caterpillars also feed on plants of the plantain family, such as Plantago
Plantago
Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...
; and the Acanthus
Acanthus (genus)
Acanthus is a genus of about 30 species of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and warm temperate regions, with the highest species diversity in the Mediterranean Basin and Asia. Common names include Acanthus and Bear's breeches...
family including ruellia (Ruellia nodiflora). Larvae feed singly. Adults and some larvae overwinter in southern areas. The pupa may not have a resting phase (diapause
Diapause
Diapause is the delay in development in response to regularly and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions. It is considered to be a physiological state of dormancy with very specific initiating and inhibiting conditions...
), as in many other butterflies.
The Common Buckeye was featured on the 2006 United States Postal Service 24-cent postage stamp.
See also
- Smoky Buckeye
- Meadow ArgusMeadow ArgusThe Meadow Argus is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, commonly found in Australia. It is also known as Albin's Hampstead Eye in the United Kingdom, where it has occurred only as an accidental import.-Description:...
(Junonia villida) - Monarch ButterflyMonarch butterflyThe Monarch butterfly is a milkweed butterfly , in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it has been found in New Zealand, and in Australia since 1871 where it is called the Wanderer...
External links
- common buckeye on the UFUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
/ IFASInstitute of Food and Agricultural SciencesThe University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is a federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information...
Featured Creatures Web site - Common Buckeye, Butterflies of Canada