Buckeye Butterfly - Junonia coenia
Family: Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies) / Subfamily Nymphalinae
Live adult buckeye butterflies photographed in the wild at DuPage County, Illinois, USA
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The Buckeye Butterfly is present over much of North America in the summertime, although it is not able to overwinter in the north. Along the east coast of the U.S., there are noticeable migrations, with hordes of Buckeyes flying southward much like the Monarch migrations farther west.
You'll most often find this butterfly nectaring in open, sunny fields - they love clover and can be quite numerous when conditions are right.

Buckeye's prominent eyespots have some amazing colors, from orange to purple to iridescent royal blue. What a magnificent creature!
References
  1. Bugguide.net, buckeye butterfly
  2. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders (North America), Chanticleer Press 1980
  3. Eric Eaton & Ken Kaufman, Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America, Hillstar Editions 2007
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Order Lepidoptera, which contains both butterflies and moths, includes at least 125,000 known species including 12,000 in North America. Butterflies are revered for their brightly colored wings and pleasing association with fair weather and flowers.
Learn to identify many of the American Midwest's common species through descriptions and large diagnostic photos of live, wild specimens.
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