Bug FAQMeadow Argus
Junonia villida · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Australian Meadow Argus, Meadow Argus Butterfly
The meadow argus is a small butterfly with brown wings marked by black-blue eyespots and white-orange edging. It lives across much of Australia and many Pacific islands, and migrates northward each October-November.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Each wing is brown with two black and blue eyespots and white-orange marks along the edge. The underside is mostly plain, except the lower forewing shows similar markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Males have a wingspan of about 4 cm, females about 4.3 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Every October or November the butterflies move from southern Australia to warmer northern areas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat a variety of garden plants, both native and introduced. Host families include plantain, figwort, morning-glory, daisy, verbena, plantain-like and gentian relatives.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs hatch in about 7 to 10 days. The larval stage lasts roughly 4 to 5 weeks. Pupae are usually black with white dots and reddish-yellow tones. The pupal stage lasts 2 to 3 weeks.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Migration occurs each October or November.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
In the United Kingdom it has appeared only as an accidental import, known there as Albin's Hampstead eye.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When do meadow argus butterflies migrate?
They move northward each October or November.
Source: Wikipedia
What do meadow argus caterpillars eat?
They feed on many garden plants, including plantain, figwort, morning-glory, daisy, verbena and related families.
Source: Wikipedia
How large are meadow argus butterflies?
Males are about 4 cm across, females about 4.3 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
What are the distinctive markings of a meadow argus?
Each wing has two black-blue eyespots and white-orange edge marks; the underside is mostly plain except for similar markings on the lower forewing.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meadow_argus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.