''Phyciodes cocyta'', the northern crescent, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

. It is found in the

Nearctic realm The Nearctic realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting the Earth's land surface. The Nearctic realm covers most of North America, including Greenland, Central Florida, and the highlands of Mexico. The parts of North America t ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 32–38 mm. The butterfly flies from June to July depending on the location. Its habitats include fields, meadows, glades, and openings in woodlands. The larvae feed on

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

species. Adults feed on nectar from

dogbane Dogbane, dog-bane (plant), bane, dog's bane, and other variations, some of them regional and some transient, are names for certain plants that are reputed to kill or repel dogs; "Bane (plant), bane" originally meant "slayer", and was later appli ...

fleabane Fleabane is a common name for some flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Most are in the subfamily Asteroideae: * '' Conyza'' (butterweeds or horseweeds: Astereae) * '' Erigeron'' (Astereae) * '' Inula'' ("yellowheads": Inuleae) * '' Pluche ...

, and

white clover ''Trifolium repens'', the white clover, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the bean family Fabaceae (otherwise known as Leguminosae). It is native to Europe, including the British Isles, and central Asia and is one of the most widely cultivated ...

Similar species

*''

Phyciodes batesii ''Phyciodes batesii'', the tawny crescent, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae that occurs in North America. Description The upperside is dark brown with orange and the forewing has a pale postmedian band with submarginal bands. The female' ...

'' – tawny crescent *''

Phyciodes tharos ''Phyciodes'', the crescents or crescent spots (like some related genera) is a genus of butterflies of the subfamily Nymphalinae in the family Nymphalidae. Species In alphabetical order:Reakirt, 1865) – tawny crescent * ''Phyciodes cocyta'' ( ...

'' – pearl crescent

References

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North AmericaNorthern crescent
Butterflies of Canada Melitaeini Butterflies of North America Taxa named by Pieter Cramer Butterflies described in 1777 {{Nymphalinae-stub