Status: Breeding resident.

Distinguishing features: Wings on both sides are dark brown with two large ocelli on the forewings. On the hindwing above the anal margin there is one small ocelli and it below there are up to six.

Distribution and habitat: Abundant throughout the state, where it occurs in a wide variety of open and wooded habitats, including old fields, pastures, parks, prairies, woodland margins, and roadsides.

Natural History: Larvae are known to consume various grasses; the specific Iowa host plant species are unknown. Adults have sound-sensing organs on the ventral forewing and can be startled by loud noises. Most Iowa material can be placed in C. p. olympus, a dark subspecies which has less well-developed ocelli as compared to the more northern C. p. nephele. It is especially frequent in native upland prairies. Some females have a hint of a pale band on the upperside of the forewing around the ocelli, which suggest the eastern C. p. alope.