Common Buckeye

Sunday evening I was walking around the new pond at Roundtop and discovered this Common Buckeye butterfly. I didn’t think too much more about it, as common Buckeyes are, well, common. But I didn’t know much about them, so I did an internet search to try and find out more. I went to one of my favorite ID sites, http://www.nearctica.com/, which is great for ID information for butterflies, skippers, birds, wildflowers and since June, snakes.

What I discovered when I went to the range map for the species is that a confirmed record of the Common Buckeye in my county—York—wasn’t listed. Now, in this particular case, it was apparently just an older map, as when I went to the site of the North American Butterfly Association (http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ ) Web site, York County was included in the range for this species.

"My" Buckeye was found in stereotypical habitat—an open, sunny area with low vegetation (in this case grass) and some bare ground. Its markings are also typical, with nothing unusual.
As a result of my searching, I found out where to report sightings of butterflies, so if you think you’ve found one that’s not typical for your area, here’s where to find the person in your state or province to report it: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/faq/state .