Phyciodes tharos
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~60%
The pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos) is a species of butterfly from North America. It is found in all parts of the United States except the west coast, and throughout Mexico and parts of southern Canada, in particular Ontario. Its habitat is open areas such as pastures, road edges, vacant lots, fields, open pine woods. Its pattern is quite variable. Males usually have black antenna knobs. Its upper side is orange with black borders; postmedian and submarginal areas are crossed by fine black marks. The underside of the hindwing has a dark marginal patch containing a light-colored crescent.
The wingspan is from 21 to 34 mm. The species has several broods throughout the year, from April–November in the north, and throughout the year in the deep south and Mexico. Adults find nectar from a great variety of flowers including dogbane, swamp milkweed, shepherd's needle, asters, and winter cress. Males patrol open areas for females. The eggs are laid in small batches on the underside of host plant leaves of aster species (family Asteraceae). Caterpillars eat the leaves and are gregarious when young. Hibernation is by third-stage caterpillars.
Hybridization between Phyciodes... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 10 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Pearl Crescent sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 579 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 19th most-seen of the 978 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 60%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July to September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Pearl Crescent in Chicago on a given day, against under 5% in November to April, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Pearl Crescent sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
4th of 20
Of the 20 cities where we can rate Pearl Crescent sightings, Chicago ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Dallas (United States, about 20%), Washington (United States, about 20%) and Baltimore (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Pearl Crescent that you can see in Chicago (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Monarch (about 40%), Red Admiral (about 20%) and Common Buckeye (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Pearl Crescent is recorded against all the insects logged in Chicago (579 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
