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Photo#140139
Crescent - Phyciodes tharos - male

Crescent - Phyciodes tharos - Male
Norris City, White County, Illinois, USA
August 26, 2007
Size: Approx. 1.75 in. wingspan

Images of this individual: tag all
Crescent - Phyciodes tharos - male Northern Crescent For Illinois In August - Phyciodes tharos - male

Could it be a Pearl Crescent/Silvery Checkerspot hybrid?
Is it possible that this is a hybrid between Pearl Crescent and Silvery Checkerspot? To me, some pattern elements look much more like Silvery than Pearl, most notably the pale centers in the little dark submarginal dots on the hindwing underside -- in a search on Google Images I can't find a Pearl that has this. A hybrid with Silvery Checkerspot would also explain the large size...

 
probably not such a hybrid
The two species are in different genera, and the genera are in different subtribes. They are not particularly related, so hybridization is pretty unlikely.

This cannot be P. cocyta
It would be nice if it was a state record, but it's an aberration. The pattern is abnormal both above and below. Really cool - perhaps better this way.

Moved from Northern Crescent.

 
Size
I guess I should have added a little note that the wingspan of this specimen was almost 2 inches. Much larger than any Pearl Crescent I've ever seen around here. (And I've seen thousands.) Is that what you mean by "mutant?"

 
2 inches would be huge
for a Pearl Crescent, or any other Crescent for that matter. 1.75 inches (considerably smaller) is still pretty big. It is clear that it is a Crescent though. The size isn't what I was refering to though when I called it "mutant". I was refering to the pattern. If you look closely at the elements within the pattern, they are odd, some are distorted, missing, or just in the wrong place. Even so, it is clearly derived from a Pearl Crescent type of pattern. There used to be people (probably still are) that made practically a career out of collecting and giving names to specimens that had odd coloring and patterns. A good place to see some photographs of this sort of thing is in Comstock's old book on California butterflies. Often such individuals are the result of environmental factors (such as excessive heat or cold) during development of the pupa, as has been demenstrated experimentally. However, in other cases it could just be a genetic mutation that might even be inheritable. Some are far more extreme than yours, and some are barely noticeable. There are actually several such "aberrants" on BugGuide (I can think of a few under Texola, Papilio and Limenitis). Yours happens to come out looking somewhat like a Northern Crescent due to the run-together orange areas, but the odds against that species turning up so far south are probably huge. Also, even if it were a Northern Crescent, it would still be an "aberrant" individual, since the pattern elements would not be typical of that species either. I have no idea if large size and the odd pattern are related. In the photo it looks (structurally) like a normal male specimen. The color pattern is beautiful.

It might be fun to have a page where such specimens are referenced, so they are easier to locate on BugGuide.

 
A Page
Yes, a page to show such individuals would be a great idea! Kind of like the page Bug Guide has of insects that are not native to the United States, from other countries, that travel halfway around the world and end up here - way out of their normal range. I believe it's called "Accidental Adventives," or something like that. I'm sure insects getting out of their normal range is something that happens much more than we ever notice or document, though. Maybe someone can create just such a page as that?
Even though Northern Crescents are seen about a state away from my location, I suppose that's just too far away to ever end up here.

 
I should add one last qualifier
Never say never. I've been blown away by what I've found where, several times. And (I don't want to admit it), I could (well - maybe, well - not likely, mmm - no way, ????) be wrong about this one.

If I get a chance, I'll try and get a page for aberrants going. Tempted to call it the "freak show", but will probably refrain :o

That was just weird
It moved back to where it was. Anyway -

Moved from Northern Crescent.

What you've got here
is a mutant, and not a Northern. The markings are not normal (but they certainly are striking). Based on where you are, it has to be a mutant Pearl Crescent. The color hues below look more like Pearl too, particularly dark markings that are sort of a dark chocolate color, not reddish, and the clear "crescent spot", also, the antenna tips are not orange.

I'm a bit jealous; I never seem to find any of these odd mutants, some of which are pretty spectacular. This one is definitely a stand-out.

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