Tag Archives: Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Butterfly Journal For 7/2/2021- 7/12/2021

July 11, 2021 -Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

The number of butterfly sightings around pbmGarden has increased recently, perhaps simply because I am actively searching for them 2-3 times most days. Since my last report I have recorded 33 individuals from 10 species. The species are all normal for this region at this time of year.

07/03/2021 Gray Hairstreak – Strymon melinus 1
07/03/2021 Fiery Skipper – Hylephila phyleus 2 Common lantana; echinacea
07/04/2021 Sachem – Atalopedes campestris 1 Echinacea
07/04/2021 Silver-spotted Skipper – Epargyreus clarus 1
07/05/2021 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/05/2021 Fiery Skipper – Hylephila phyleus 1 Common lantana
07/06/2021 Ocola Skipper – Panoquina ocola 1 Verbena bonariensis
07/06/2021 Common Buckeye – Junonia coenia 1 Verbena bonariensis
07/06/2021 Gray Hairstreak – Strymon melinus 1 Echinacea
07/07/2021 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius 2 females (thanks to H. LeGrand for ID – 1 nectaring on common lantana; 1 on monarda
07/07/2021 ?Fiery Skipper – Hylephila phyleus 1 on peony leaves
07/09/2021 Silver-spotted Skipper – Epargyreus clarus 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/09/2021 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius 1 Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
07/09/2021 Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) 2 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush); Common lantana
07/09/2021 American Lady – Vanessa virginiensis 1 Verbena bonariensis
07/10/2021 Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/10/2021 Ocola Skipper – Panoquina ocola 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/10/2021 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius 3 1 on Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush); 2 on Common lantana
07/11/2021 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius 2 1 on Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush); 1 on Common lantana
07/11/2021 Fiery Skipper – Hylephila phyleus 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush) [Update note: originally listed as Sachem; identified on Inaturalist as Fiery Dec 29, 2021)
07/11/2021 Sachem (Atalopedes campestris) 1 Common lantana
07/11/2021 Ocola Skipper – Panoquina ocola 1 Common lantana
07/11/2021 American Lady – Vanessa virginiensis 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/11/2021 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 1 Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush)
07/12/2021 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 1 Common lantana
07/12/2021 Silver-spotted Skipper – Epargyreus clarus 1 Common lantana and Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)
07/12/2021 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius 1 Common lantana and Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower)

I am taking many photographs to help with identifications. Here are some representative butterflies seen during this period.

July 3, 2021 -Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) on Liatris spicata ‘Blazing Star’

July 3, 2021 -Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

July 6, 2021 -Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)

July 6, 2021 -Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

July 6, 2021 -Ovipositing Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus)

There have been 9 Horace’s during this period. Below is a fresh female and the following two images are a more worn female.

July 7, 2021 -Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) -Female

July 7, 2021 -Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) -Female. On Monarda (Bee Balm)

Same individual as above.

July 7, 2021 -Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) -Female. On Monarda (Bee Balm)

Two views of same American Lady…

July 9, 2021 -American Lady (Vanessa virginiensis)

Skippers are difficult for me to identify. I have not noticed Sachems before this year. Either I haven’t seen them, I ignored them or possibly I mistook them for Fiery Skippers.

July 9, 2021 -Sachem (Atalopedes campestris)

July 10, 2021 -Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) -1

July 10, 2021 -Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)

Silver-spotted skippers are easy to identify and are frequent visitors to my garden.

July 11, 2021 -Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Common lantana is in full bloom now, starting to attract many insects including this Ocola skipper.

July 11, 2021 -Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)

July 11, 2021 -Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

The “silver” spot is not visible in this picture. I took this photo this morning and appreciate the butterfly choosing a color-coordinated background.

July 12, 2021 -Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

July 12 2021 -Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)

For 2021 I have observed 100 individuals from 19 species.
There are 177 species known for the state of North Carolina and 105 in my particular county of Chatham.

Butterfly Journal For 6/25 – 7/1/2021

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July 1,, 2021 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

[Note to self: Last Butterfly Journal entry title was dated 6/18 – 6/24 but actually included 6/25. Repeating 6/25/2021 entries.]

With very dry conditions it has been another slow week for butterfly sightings in my garden. (For purpose of synching my record keeping the first four listed are actually repeats from last week.)

06/25/2001 Cabbage White – Pieris rapae
06/25/2001 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
06/25/2001 Eastern Tailed-Blue – Cupido comyntas
06/25/2001 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius
06/28/2001 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)
06/28/2001 Cabbage White – Pieris rapae
06/28/2001 Horace’s Duskywing – E. horatius.
06/29/2001 American Lady – Vanessa virginiensis
06/29/2001 Common Buckeye – Junonia coenia
06/29/2001 Fiery Skipper – Hylephila phyleus
07/01/2001 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

I was happy to see a couple of E. Tiger Swallowtails this week. One male was particularly focused on eating which allowed me a few close-ups.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) – Male

A few of you have commented you also are not seeing many butterflies this summer. Let’s hope that changes. Today at last a nice rain is falling that is expected to last throughout the day. Perhaps the water will encourage more flowers. Common lantana and Rudbeckia are just coming into bloom and usually attract many kinds of pollinators.

June 28, 2021 Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)

I couldn’t quite get close enough to this buckeye, tucked into shadows of a large stand of button chrysanthemums.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

In previous years there have been many skippers. This Fiery Skipper is among the few so far this summer.

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Wishing for a balance in your weather this week. Hope gardens and pollinators are bringing much joy.

Butterfly Journal For June 11-17, 2021

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Since my last report the morning of June 11 when I noted so much trouble getting a photo of a Common Buckeye, I have seen three more. Two were quite cooperative—one looked very colorful and fresh; the other looked worse for the wear.

June 12, 2021 Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

June 15, 2021 Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

I have seen a couple of Fiery Skippers on verbena bonariensis. Once common lantana and Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower) come into flower I expect many more. These images are the same individual.

June 15, 2021 Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

There was a glimpse of a fast moving Pipevine Swallowtail, but unlike last week I could not get a good images this time. This one is heavily cropped.

June 14, 2021 Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Two updates: I had some ID help through a facebook group Carolina Leps with a couple of mystery insects in last week’s post. The Southern Broken-Dash (Wallengrenia otho) was confirmed so that’s a first in the garden for me.

An insect I tentatively thought was Zarucco Duskywing (Erynnis zarucco) of June 8, 2021 is probably Horace’s Duskywing. I was told Zarucco couldn’t be ruled out but it is not commonly found in a garden setting.

I spotted two more Horace’s Duskywings this week.

June 11, 2021 Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)

June 14, 2021 Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius)

In early June I glimpsed a few Eastern Tiger Swallowtails but they would just fly over the garden and not stop. Yesterday as I turned into my driveway I saw a beautiful male in the front yard nectaring on Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Coneflower).

June 16, 2021 Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Echinacea purpurea ‘White Swan’ (Coneflower)

Another brief happenstance moment allowed me to record another first in the garden this week. I stood back trying to photograph this newly opened gladiolus when a butterfly landed in the distance.

June 14, 2021 Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

Knowing I was too far away I took a shot anyway. It was the only image I could get before the butterfly flew off again (see below). Turns out the original picture above with the glad captured the butterfly too (below left-most red daylily). Though I hadn’t seen this one in person before I recognized it from others’ posts on the Carolina Leps page as Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis).

June 14, 2021 Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

Cropped view:

June 14, 2021 Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

A Snapshot In Time

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Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)

While chasing a decidedly camera-shy Common Buckeye butterfly yesterday afternoon, I came upon a fleeting segment of natural wonder.

Beneath a patch of zinnias an asclepias seedpod was having a moment. Walls of the okra-shaped pod had separated, revealing rows of seeds attached to white, silky threads.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)

Patterns in nature are fascinating and here the seeds are aligned, held back by gentle tufts of silkiness.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)

I went inside to grab some clippers imagining this would make a great focal point for a floral design.

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Plant)

In my brief two-minute absence nature carried on with its script, sending the necessary amount of wind across the flower bed, releasing the seeds into the world. Wind dispersal sends seeds away from the parent plant, in this case carried atop silky parachutes. Stunned it had happened so immediately I failed to even photograph the mostly bare stems left behind.

Eventually I managed a distant shot of the butterfly, a satisfying consolation and another fine example of nature’s fondness for pattern.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) on Chrysanthemum ‘Sheffield Pink’ (Hardy Chrysanthemum)

Garden Delights

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Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

Another busy week is done that left little time for the garden. There were warm, humid days, stormy days, bright days with the bluest sky imaginable and on this sunny first of October morning the air has a refreshing chill (before warming to 78°F).

On the last few days of September, in brief segments measured merely in minutes, I wandered the garden to recharge, each time finding some small delight.

I have had a few monarchs visit each year but Tuesday marked the first time I have seen a viceroy. Viceroy (Limenitis archippus) is distinguished by the black line across the veins on its hind wings.

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

I spotted another yesterday (or perhaps the same one returned, but I think the black vein looks thinner).

Viceroy (Limenitis archippus)

My incarnations of Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’ have not always been true to the catalogs but one plant in particular sometimes throws up a pretty one.

Dahlia ‘Cafe Au Lait’

There were several other butterflies of note, a Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) and a Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes). These are commonly sighted where I live but fairly infrequent in my garden.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes)

A few dianthus plants are blooming more easily now the weather is cooler. How is this for a colorful greeting?

Dianthus Ideal Select Mix

The small skippers were everywhere midsummer but numbers have declined significantly in the past 5-6 weeks. iNaturalist is my goto source to identify skippers (mostly fieries, ocolas). I found another clouded skipper this week.

Clouded Skipper (Lerema accius)

An interesting creature, if not the loveliest, this grasshopper tried to hide from the camera.

Differential Grasshopper (Melanoplus differentialis)

I will finish with a quick video of the black swallowtail, frenetically searching for sustenance among lantana flowers.

Early September Scenes

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It has been a hot, dry week. The garden is turning toward autumn.

Dahlia ‘Gallery Art Deco’

Dahlia

Zinnia

Dahlia ‘Tsuku Yori No Shisha’ and D. ‘David Howard’

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) (Waterlogue filter)

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

Carolina Mantis (Stagmomantis carolina) on Hedychium coronarium (Ginger lily)

Butterfly Sightings Today

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Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Today was an interesting time for seeing a variety of butterflies in my garden. Checking twice for a few minutes each time yielded some firsts for me, novice that I am. Nothing I saw is rare or unexpected for this county at this time of year, but it was exciting nonetheless to see so many different things here in one day.

11:17-11:25 am
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) First of year (saw one last year August 15, 2019)
Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus) First life sighting
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

12:33-12:48 pm
Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) 3 yellow and 3 dark morphs (6 total).
Monarch (Danaus plexippus)
Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor) (same individual as earlier judging by the missing tail)
American Snout (Libytheana carinenta) First life sighting
Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia) (spotted one earlier session but couldn’t get photo)
Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

[Addendum: Later in the afternoon around 3:30 pm I saw a Black Swallowtail on zinnias in front yard, but had no camera handy.]

I spent most of the first session watching this beautiful creature with its gorgeous blue. It checked out verbena bonariensis briefly but once it found the lantana nearby it was content to stay put.

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Just as the swallowtail drifted to the back side out of view, this amazing skipper landed beside me. The tail of the long-tailed skipper definitely stood out as did the blue coloration. I had about 5 seconds to enjoy it before it flew off.

Long-tailed Skipper (Urbanus proteus)

While eating lunch I had seen a white butterfly flash by so I stepped back into the garden with the camera for session 2, but of course it was not in sight. I checked out the butterfly bush where six Eastern Tiger Swallowtails were hanging out.

A Silver-spotted Skipper landed out of nowhere. I have seen several this week. A quick photo shoot sent it off elsewhere, so I went back to the E. T. Swallowtails.

Silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreus clarus)

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

A Monarch landed on nearby Rudbeckia laciniata (Green-Headed Coneflower) and posed.

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Moving to the southern border where the lantana is I spotted (probably the same) Pipevine Swallowtail again.

Pipevine Swallowtail (Battus philenor)

Across the garden I noticed action in the northern border. In the iris bed feeding on salvia is where I saw my first ever American Snout (Libytheana carinenta). I was not sure what it was but “snout” came to mind!

American Snout (Libytheana carinenta)

Taking one more glance around I spotted a Common Buckeye. I had seen one earlier but could not get a photo. Perhaps it was the same one, no way to know. Lovely and distinctive markings make it fun to see.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

The white butterfly reappeared. It was a Cabbage White.

Cabbage White (Pieris rapae)

Garden Observations

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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

It has been too hot for me to want to garden but occasionally I step outside with the camera to survey the visitors.

Early this morning I spotted a skipper flying erratically among Verbena bonariensis flowers along the front drive.

Ocola Skipper (Panoquina ocola)

In the main garden in the back yard a large bush of common lantana draws many insects, as does the nearby Blue Sky salvia, both growing in the southern border. In the western border along the back fence a butterfly bush offers enticement.

Unlike last week when they merely passed through, several eastern tiger swallowtails spent the day.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus)

In addition to the swallowtail, this morning in quick succession I enjoyed seeing some favorites return. There was a male monarch in good condition bouncing back and forth between the lantana and salvia.

Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)

While photographing the monarch a Common Buckeye appeared, first one this year for me.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Can you spot where it fled to escape my persistent camera?

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

I left the common buckeye alone once the first Hummingbird Clearwing of the season suddenly came into view. It has an easily recognizable profile.

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe)

The Hummingbird Clearwing didn’t stay still but it stayed around long enough for me to take portraits.

Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe)

Within just a few minutes I was cheered to see such interesting creatures. Hope the garden is feeding your soul this August.

Sharing The Garden

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Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Multiple heavy storms this week have my friends complaining, “Enough water!” but by some fluke of nature, promising dark clouds bypassed my neighborhood day after day, time and again. So this afternoon when a nice steady rain started up, I welcomed it readily.

One benefit of the need to be out watering yesterday morning was the enjoyment of seeing bees and hummingbirds sipping from the flowers. I also spotted a beautiful butterfly atop Echinacea purpurea, so came back out later with my camera. I welcome corrections because my identification skills are woefully undeveloped and potentially unreliable, but according to me, this one is Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia).

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Common Buckeyes are found all over the United States, except in the Northwest. And supposedly here in the south where I live, they are well, rather true to their name, common; however, I do not see them commonly, so one picture was not enough.

When the butterfly is fresh its eye spots have a lavender tint.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Here the butterfly is sharing politely with a bee. There is a little sliver missing from its upper left wing.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Eventually the butterfly drifted toward the ground to light upon Phlox subulata (Moss Phlox).

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Its ventral wing coloring is lighter in spring and summer, helping to camouflage itself. In fall and winter the color darkens to a rosier hue.

Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

Another insect that caught my attention yesterday was the Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus). It is also is found abundantly in this area of North Carolina. For the longest time I tried to discern shades of coloring and markings (chevrons, smudges, spots?) to identify if this is male or female. Still not sure, but I am guessing female.

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) On Nepeta ‘Walker’s Low’ (Catmint)

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) On Phlox divaricata (Woodland phlox)

The club-shaped ends of the antennae are black on the outside and orange on the inside.

Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)

I will close with a look at one flower I am especially enjoying this week. It is a striking shade of my favorite garden color—blue. The black calyces and stems add contrast and drama.

Salvia guaranitica ‘Black and Blue’