Tropical Buckeye (Junonia genoveva [Stoll])
Wing span: 1 3/4 - 2 1/4 inches (4.5 - 5.7 cm).
Identification: Upperside is brown; wide forewing band is white diffused with brown or orange; large eyespot is edged with brown internally. Lower eyespot on forewing and upper eyespot on hindwing are about the same size. Underside of hindwing is brown; median band is fairly straight. Form nigrosuffusa is very dark brown; forewing band is dark orange or lacking.
Life history: Males perch all day on flat-topped vegetation or on the ground to watch for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on the host plant; caterpillars are solitary and eat leaves.
Flight: Three to four broods from March-October, adults overwinter from October-March.
Caterpillar hosts: Stemodia, lippia, ruellia, and porterweed.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open tropical lowlands including fields, brushlands, sandy islands.
Range: Southern New Mexico, southern Arizona, South Texas, and southern Florida south through the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America to Argentina. Rare wanderer to southeastern California, southeastern Colorado, and central Florida.