Common Buckeye Butterflies

/

Named for its conspicuous target-shaped eyespots, the common buckeye, Junonia coenia Hübner, is found in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains and in Mexico. "The common buckeye is a medium-sized butterfly with several large, conspicuous round eyespots. Adults have a wingspan range of 45 to 70 mm. Females are generally larger than males and have more rounded forewings. The upper surface of the forewing has a broad white postmedian band that touches and often encircles a single large eyespot. The forewing cell has two prominent orange bars. The upper surface of the hindwing has two large eyespots and a broad orange submarginal band." LINK

Common Buckeye, Fort Pickens FL - September 2009
Nikon D300, 300mm f/4 lens
1/320 sec at f/8, ISO 200

Common Buckeye
NABA International Butterfly Park, Rio Grande area, TX, November 2010
Nikon D700, Sigma 180mm f/3.5 lens and 2x tc
1/200 sec at f/14, ISO 2500

Common Buckeye
Fort McRae FL - November 2008
Nikon D80, 300mm f/4 lens and 1.4x tc
1/320 sec at f/11, ISO 400

Return to Top

/ /

David Sparks

I retired in 2005 after 40 years of research and teaching at the University of Alabama in Birmingham (24 years), the University of Pennsylvania (8 years) and the Baylor College of Medicine (8 years). Photography is my retirement hobby.

Nature photography, especially bird photography, combines a number of things that I really enjoy: bird-watching, being outdoors, photography, travel, messing about with computers, and learning new skills and concepts.  I now spend much of my time engaged in these activities.

David Sibley in the preface to The Sibley Guide to Birds wrote "Birds are beautiful, in spectacular as well as subtle ways; their colors, shapes, actions, and sounds are among the most aesthetically pleasing in nature."  My goal is to acquire images that capture the beauty and uniqueness of selected species as well as images that highlight the engaging behaviors the birds exhibit.