Junonia coenia grisea

Photo Life History: Junonia coenia grisea

Habitat:  Desert Hills & Mountains; Agricultural Areas (of the Desert); Desert Washes; Valley Wet Meadows (of the Desert)

Host Plants:  Plantago lanceolata; Plantago major

Suitable Lab Host Plants: Antirrhinum majus

How to Find Female Butterflies:  Click here. 

Caring for Live Female Butterflies:  Nectaring techniques

Methods of Female Oviposition:  Portable Cages; Expose caged females to filtered sunlight.  To see a short video of a female buckeye laying eggs, click here.

How to Find Eggs: Look on leaves.

How to Hatch Eggs:  Consolidate eggs into one container.

How to Find Caterpillars in the Field: Isolated host plants.  The key to finding larvae is to look in agricultural areas or other disturbed areas where the butterfly is common.  Larvae can be found resting both on and off the plant.  No nests.

How to Find Pupae in the Field: 

Caterpillar setups:  Open Bucket; Closed Container

Larva to Pupa:  Caterpillar silks to leaf or twig; creates and attaches cremaster; hanging as a J before pupating.

Number of Broods per Year:  1-3 depending upon location.

Overwintering Stage:  Adult

Overwintering Strategies:

Post-Hibernation Strategies: 

Avoiding Diapause Techniques:  

Disease Prevention:  Change out host plant and remove frass every one to two days in a closed container; every four days in an open bucket type setup. 

Emergence:  Emergence Container

Field Notes:  Adult phenotypes can be altered significantly by exposing caterpillars to varying temperature and photoperiod; including forms rosa and nigrosuffusa.  This is not to be confused with the taxon J. evarete nigrosuffusa, but rearing P. coenia larvae under short day photoperiod can produce a dark form/form rosa insect that superficially looks like nigrosuffusa.