Description 2-2 1/2" (51-63 mm). Wings scalloped
and rounded except at drawn-out FW tip. Highly variable. Above,
tawny-brown to dark brown; 2 orange bars in FW cell, orange
submarginal band on HW, white band diagonally crossing FW.
2 bright eyespots on each wing above: on FW, 1 very small near
tip and 1 large eyespot in white FW bar; on HW, 1 large eyespot
near upper margin and 1 small eyespot below it. Eyespots black,
yellow-rimmed, with iridescent blue and lilac irises. Beneath,
FW resembles above in lighter shades; HW eyespots tiny or absent,
rose-brown to tan, with vague crescent-shaped markings.
Similar Species West Indian Buckeye lighter and redder, has
smaller eyespots of nearly equal size on HW above.
Life Cycle Egg dark green, stubby, ribbed, flat-topped. Caterpillar,
to 1 1/4" (32 mm), dark or greenish to blackish-gray with
orange and yellowish markings. Wide variety of host plants
include plantain (Plantaginaceae), figwort (Schrophulariaceae),
stonecrop (Crassulaceae), and vervain ( Verbenaceae) families.
Chrysalis, to 1" (25 mm), mottled pale brown.
Flight 2-4 broods; year-round in Deep South, elsewhere March-October.
Habitat Shorelines, roadsides, railroad embankments, fields
and meadows, swamp edges, and other open places.
Range Resident throughout South, in North to east and west
of Rockies to Oregon, Ontario, and New England.
Discussion Although the Buckeye flies in summer throughout
much of North America south of the Canadian taiga, it is not
able to overwinter very far north. In the autumn along the
East Coast, there are impressive southward emigrations. In
places such as Cape May, New Jersey, the October hordes of
Buckeyes drifting southward rival those of Monarchs in number
and spectacle. The classification of Buckeyes has puzzled generations
of lepidopterists. They are sometimes listed under the genus
Precis (which includes the Old World species) and under the
old species name lavinia. The Dark Buckeye (J. nigrosuffusa)
is nearly black above, with buff wing tips, orange fore wing
cell bars, and smallish, blue-centered eyespots. The underside
looks very different: the fore wing is orange, black, and buff
with a prominent, blue-centered spot, while the hind wing is
clear sandy-buff, crossed by a vague brown line or band, and
has minute eyespots near the margin. This species dwells in
the canyons of the Southwest from southeastern California and
Arizona across southern Texas into Mexico. Its caterpillars
feed on Stemodia, a member of the figwort family. Adults fly
in the fall.
