Pearl Crescent Variation - Phyciodes tharos - BugGuide.Net

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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies (Papilionoidea) » Brushfooted Butterflies (Nymphalidae) » Crescents, Checkerspots, Anglewings, etc. (Nymphalinae) » Phyciodes » Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

Photo#117670

Copyright © 2007 Kenneth Dwain Harrelson

Pearl Crescent Variation - Phyciodes tharos -

Norris City, White County, Illinois, USA

This picture illustrates some of the variations found in Pearl Crescent Butterflies. They range from an all-black edged wing to edges with a lot of white showing. The specimens were all photographed within approximately the same 100 square yards of field and during a month's total span of time.

The top six specimens were all photographed on June 8th, 2007, while the bottom three were photographed on May 8th, May 9th and May 29th, respectively.

To me, the most typical-looking specimen is the one from May 29th, in the lower right corner. Some consideration should also be made as there are subtle differences between the coloring of both sexes.

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Contributed by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson on 12 June, 2007 - 3:44am
Last updated 7 April, 2008 - 7:08pm

male vs. female

I think it worth pointing out that there is much difference (on average) between males and females too. I am not 100% certain, but I think that top right, center, and lower three are all female. Center right would represent a male color pattern that tends to be more prevalent in specimens from early spring (though can turn up any time), and the remainder would be "average" males. I like this post too. It shows a good representation of the species. It is equally varied here along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, several hundreds of miles from Illinois.

… David J. Ferguson, 7 April, 2008 - 5:55pm

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Thanks!

Thanks for pointing this out - I hadn't thought about it when I first posted it. I will amend my comments under it to reflect this aspect.

… Kenneth Dwain Harrelson, 7 April, 2008 - 7:07pm

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your welcome

Looking again, I think that left center one might be female too. The markings lean toward male a bit, but that abdomen definitely looks female.

… David J. Ferguson, 8 April, 2008 - 3:07pm

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Variability

Thank you for sharing this composition. It is so easy to get hung up on the one prefect specimen or drawing in a book. One of the great values of this site is the large number of images from various angles and under different lighting conditions. We have a goodly number of Pearl Crescents in my part of PA, but I have never seen the bluish tone in your numbers 1, 3, 5, and 9. Most of ours look more like 4 or 6.

… J Keen Holland, 13 August, 2007 - 6:11am

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Nice display

Nice display that does a good job of showing variation in a single species.

… Stephen Cresswell, 12 June, 2007 - 5:16am

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