I'm just a newbie but it looks like the buckeyes that I see here. I have noticed some look darker - maybe more recently eclosed? They love those orange cosmos!

Heat and cold can change the color or butterfly wings.

I do see some differences. The eyespots on my buckeye are more colorful, and the white stripes go farther around the eyespots. I assume these are just normal variations.

Tim
www.WildlifeTheater.com

Nice pictures.

Seasonal morphs are common in Precis (Junonia) coenia, as are species variations and intergrades. The early broods are usually the lighter linea morph and the later and darker brood the rosa morph. Ventral coloration is a more reliable key for which morph to place an individual in. In the southwest we also have nigrosuffusia which can be almost jet black dorsally in some individuals.

Seasonal variation is a product of both habitat temperture and humidity, and can affect size, color and markings. Generally warm/dry habitats (summer broods) produce smaller/lighter individuals and cool/wetter habitats (fall) larger/darker individuals. What an individual will be (color and markings) is set in the first few days after it pupates (then and only then), so either morph at any time of the season can usually be dupicated in the lab (as can aberrations and gynandromorphs).