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Project Noah Nature School
Junonia coenia
Size: Wingspan 39-68mm. Larva to 45mm. Upperside is brown. Forewing with 2 orange cell bars and 2 eyespots; part of white subapical band appears in the largest, lower eyespot. Hindwing has 2 eyespots; upper one is largest and contains a magenta crescent. Underside of hindwing is brown or tan in the wet season (summer) form and rose-red in the dry season (fall) form. Caterpillar is highly variable in color, but usually "mostly black above and white and/or orange along sides with metallic blue-black dorsal spines. Spines along sides arise from orange wart-like bases. Head orange above with black bordering frons;short black scolus over each lobe...heavily salted with white tubercles" Season: Two to three broods from May-October, throughout the year in the Deep South. Life Cycle: Males perch during the day on low plants or bare ground to watch for females, flying periodically to patrol or to chase other flying insects. Females lay eggs singly on leaf buds or on upperside of host plant leaves. Caterpillars are solitary and eat leaves. Caterpillars and adults overwinter but only in the south.
Range: Resident in the southern United States and north along the coasts to central California and North Carolina; south to Bermuda, Cuba, Isle of Pines, and southern Mexico. Adults from the south's first brood migrate north in late spring and summer to temporarily colonize most of the United States and parts of southern Canada. Habitat: Open, sunny areas with low vegetation and some bare ground. Food: Caterpillar hosts: Plants from the snapdragon family including snapdragon (Antirrhinum), toadflax (Linaria), and Gerardia; the plantain family including plantains (Plantago); and the acanthus family including ruellia (Ruellia nodiflora). Adult food: Favorite nectar sources are composites including aster, chickory, gumweed, knapweed, and tickseed sunflower. Dogbane, peppermint, and other flowers are also visited.
Found on nature walk.
Spotted on Nov 11, 2012
Submitted on Nov 12, 2012
2 Comments
Really? I did have a hard time getting a good shot so this has some light play and hard pixel play as well to get it to this point.
looks like the wings are inside out! unusual and unique to find it such. The exterior of the butterfly is quite different!!