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LinkedInPosts Tagged: Junonia coenia
A 'Firecracker of a Surprise' in Davis: Who Knew?
When plant and insect enthusiast Ria de Grassi discovered caterpillars on her firecracker plant, Russelia equisetiformis, last July 10 in her yard in Davis, Calif., she asked noted butterfly authority Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, to identify them. He not...
These are the caterpillars (larvae) of the Buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia, that Ria de Grassi noticed on her firecracker plant. (Photo by Ria de Grassi)
Plant and insect enthusiast Ria de Grassi of Davis, a UC Davis alumna, reads in her newly landscaped backyard, a "Life After Lawn" project. (Photo by Katie Hetrick, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden)
Firecracker plant, Russellia equisetiforis, thrives by the Sciences Lab Building on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Miss Is as Good as a Mile
A miss is as good as a mile...or a smile. The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a striking butterfly patterned with eyespots and white bars. We saw one today nectaring on sedum, but with chunks of a wing missing. Perhaps a bird or a praying mantis tried to grab it. It narrowly escaped...
Buckeye butterfly on sedum. Note the missing chunks of its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sideview of Buckeye butterfly-almost a meal for a predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An intact Buckeye on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Buck (Eye) Stops Here
The buck stops here. The buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia), that is. Whether it's doing the fandago on the plantago, the can-can on the lantana or the waltz on the sedum, it's easy to spot. That's because of its large eyelike circles on its wings. That's enough to scare any predator--and...
Buckeye (Junonia coenia) spreads its wings on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buckeye perched on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buckeye ready to flutter away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Shall We Prey?
The California Buckeye (Junonia coenia), with its bold eyespots and white bars, is an easily recognizable butterfly. The problem: getting close enough for a photo and then patiently waiting for it to open its wings. At the first indication of danger, it flutters away. The eyespots are supposed to...
Buckeye spreads it wings on an African daisy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Shattered Buckeye, probably the work of a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The predator? Could have been this praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Eyes Have It
The eyespots--they're almost hypnotic. And that's what makes the buckeye butterfly (Junonia coenia) so easily recognizable--the bold pattern of eyespots on the wings, bold enough to startle and scare away prey.This buckeye (below) fluttered along the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee...
Buckeye Butterfly
