Pearl Crescent
Phyciodes tharos
Males are highly territorial and will aggressively fly out to investigate or chase away other insects that enter their small patch of sunlight.
- Scientific name
- Phyciodes tharos
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Phyciodes
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Open meadows, fields, pastures, roadsides, and vacant lots.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar from various flowers, especially asters; caterpillars eat the leaves of aster species.
- Range
- North America, Southern Canada, Northern Mexico
- Size
- Wingspan of 21–34 mm (0.8–1.3 inches).
- Lifespan
- 10-15 days as an adult; total life cycle approximately one month.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to urban development and the widespread use of broad-spectrum herbicides on host plants.
- Safe to approach?
- This species is completely harmless to humans. They are small and approachable; you may observe them closely as they nectar on flowers. Avoid touching them, as the scales on their wings are fragile and essential for flight.
The pearl crescent ( Phyciodes tharos ) is a butterfly of North America. It is found in all parts of the United States except the west coast, and throughout Mexico and parts of southern Canada, in particular Ontario. Its habitat is open areas such as pastures, road edges, vacant lots, fields, open pine woods. Its pattern is quite variable. Males usually have black antenna knobs. Its upperside is orange with black borders; postmedian and submarginal areas are crossed...
Photo: Beatriz Moisset, CC-BY-SA, via iNaturalist
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