Wing span: 1 3/4 - 3 inches (4.5 - 7.6 cm).

Identification: Geographically variable. Wings are brown. Upperside of forewing has 2 large yellow-ringed eyespots. Lowerside of hindwing has a variable number of small eyespots. Southern and coastal butterflies are larger and have a yellow or yellow-orange patch on the outer part of the forewing. Inland butterflies are smaller and have the yellow forewing patch reduced or absent.

Life history: Males patrol for females with a dipping flight through the vegetation. In late summer, females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves. Caterpillars hatch but do not feed, instead hibernating until spring.

Flight: One brood from late May-October. Females emerge later than males.

Caterpillar hosts: Purpletop (Tridens flavus) and other grasses.

Adult food: Rotting fruit, flower nectar.

Habitat: Large, sunny, grassy areas including prairies, open meadows, bogs, and old fields.

Range: Southern Canada and the continental United States except for most of the Southwest and Texas, southern peninsular Florida, and northern Maine.