''Phyciodes cocyta'', the northern crescent, 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. 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 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 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 The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

species. Adults feed on nectar from dogbane,

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) * ''Pluchea'' (ca ...

, 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,Clapham, A.R., Tutin, T.G. and Warburg., E.F. 1968. ''Excursi ...

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 femal ...

'' – 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:"''Phyciodes''_Hübner,_[1819]"at_Markku_Savela's_''Lepi ...

'' – 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 {{Nymphalinae-stub