Common Buckeye - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly ID Thumbnail — Get Identification Help

Common Buckeyes are habitat generalists, requiring little more than open sunny areas and intermittent patches of ground for males to perch and establish territories. They are common throughout Alabama and have been documented in every county.

In Alabama, buckeyes are easy to identify because nothing else looks quite like them. Yet, they are so variable in appearance that no two seem to look exactly alike. All buckeyes sport large, showy eyespots, perhaps making them look like goggle-eyed monsters to potential predators.

Distribution and Abundance

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

131 - Baldwin - 10/2/2023
101 - Baldwin - 9/25/2023
101 - Madison - 9/23/2022

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
22	8	10	3	5	39	40	67	47	41	47	101	46	152	209	171	265	209	251	426	337	311	185	194	216	258	275	383	287	382	657	580	884	613	686	1151	896	913	410	456	479	121	130	108	59	68	56	86

Habitat

A wide variety of open sunny habitats with patches of bare ground.

Common Buckeye (*Junonia coenia*)

County

© Sara Bright

Purple Gerardia/Purple False Foxglove

Host Plants

Various plants within the Acanthus, Figwort, and Plantain family are reported elsewhere.

In addition to the plants listed below, Climbing Snapdragon Vine (Maurandya/Asarina scandens) has also been documented in Alabama.

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Landscaping Ideas

Buckeyes are avid nectarers. Including a variety of flowers such as Black Eyed Susans (Rudbeckia spp.), Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Joe Pye Weeds (Eutrochium spp.), asters (Symphyotrichum spp.), ironweeds (Vernonia spp.), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and Blue Mistflower/Wild Ageratum (Conoclinium coelestinum) in your landscape will provide food for butterflies like Common Buckeyes throughout the growing season.