pearl crescent

not listed

N5 - Secure

S5 - Secure

not listed

Pearl crescent is a medium sized brushfoot butterfly. It has a wingspan of 1″ to 1½″.

The upperside of the both wings is orange with a broad black border and a black-and-white fringe. There is a small to large patch in the basal area that is is mostly black with many fine, pale specks. The female is larger, darker, and more extensively marked than the male.

The upperside of the forewing has four irregular black patches: a subapical patch that merges with the black border; a submarginal patch near the inner margin that merges with the black border; a median patch on the leading (costal) margin; and a median patch on the inner margin. On most individuals, a black jagged line separates the median area from the postmedial area and widens into an irregular black patch near the costal margin. On the female, the median area is yellowish-orange. There are jagged lines in the discal area that form one or two outer and a row of inner orange spots with black borders.

The upperside of the hindwing has a submarginal row if pale, crescent-shaped spots within the black border. There is a jagged, uninterrupted, postmedial line and a postmedial row of small black spots. Jagged lines in the discal area create three rows of irregular orange spots with black borders.

The underside of the forewing is orange with pale orange costal and apical areas; thin, jagged, dark orange lines; and two ill-defined black patches near the costal margin.

The underside of the hindwing is pale orange with thin, jagged, dark orange lines, and an ill-defined, dark orange patch near the costal margin. There is also a dark brown patch near the trailing edge with a pearly white spot. On females, the pale areas are orangish-yellow and the lines are more highly contrasted.

The antennae are black and white striped. The antenna club is black on males, black and white striped on females. The tip of the club is orange. The legs are orangish-yellow.

The caterpillar is up to ¾″ long and dark brown with numerous tiny white spots. The spots are the expanded base of the hairs (seta). On the thorax and each abdominal segment there is a short, branched spine (scolus) in the middorsal, subdorsal, supraspiracular, spiracular, and subspiracular regions. The base of the scolus is rounded, wart-like, reddish-orange, and shiny. There is a broken white line in the subdorsal and subspiracular areas that extends onto the head.

Wingspan: 1″ to 1½″

Meadows, prairies, fields, pastures, forest edges, streamsides, roadsides, and other open areas.

Two broods: mid-May to June, and July to early September

Young caterpillars feed in groups but do not create nests.

The male patrols near host plants in search of a receptive female. After mating, the female lays green eggs on the underside of aster leaves in a raft of usually about 36 but as few as 20 to as many as 200. The second brood overwinters as a third-stage caterpillar.

White panicle aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum), smooth blue aster (Symphyotrichum laeve), and other asters (Symphyotrichum spp.).

Flower nectar of spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), white clover (Trifolium repens), fleabane (Erigeron spp.), thistle (Cirsium spp.), and aster (Symphyotrichum spp.).

Sources

7, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82.

Phyciodes tharos pearl crescent

Phyciodes not quite Northern or Pearl

This one looks like a pearl crescent above and a northern crescent below.

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, WI

Location: Albany, NY

Location: Barnes Prairie, Racine County, WI

Location: Woodbury, Minnesota