''Phyciodes mylitta'', the Mylitta crescent or Mylitta crescentspot, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

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 have a red ...

. It is found in western North America. The

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

is 26-37 mm. Wings are orange with black markings and white fringe on the edges. The females are darker than the males. The butterfly flies from June until late July in CanadaMylitta Crescent
Butterflies of Canada and until fall in California. It is found in a variety of habitats, and usually inhabits meadows and stream banks in forested areas. The larvae are black with spines and white markings. They feed on ''

Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera ('' Carduus'', ''Silyb ...

'' and ''

Carduus ''Carduus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, and the tribe Cardueae, one of two genera considered to be true thistles, the other being ''Cirsium''. Plants of the genus are known commonly as plumeless thistles.

'' species. Adults feed on flower nectar.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:"''Phyciodes'' Hübner, [1819]"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''P. m. arizonensis'' Bauer, 1975 *''P. m. arida'' (Skinner, 1917) *''P. m. mexicana'' Hall, 1928 *''P. m. mylitta'' *''P. m. thebais'' Godman & Salvin, 1878

Similar species

*''Phyciodes pallida'' – pale crescent

References

External links

Species ''Phyciodes mylitta'' - Mylitta Crescent
BugGuide Melitaeini Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1861 Taxa named by William Henry Edwards {{Nymphalinae-stub