Bug FAQCuban Crescent
Anthanassa frisia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Cuban crescent (Anthanassa frisia) is a butterfly in the Nymphalidae family that lives in the West Indies, southern Florida and reaches into Texas and further south. Adults are on the wing most of the year in warm areas, while the caterpillars feed on Beloperone guttata or Dicliptera species depending on the subspecies.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The Cuban crescent belongs to the butterfly family Nymphalidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The frisia subspecies has a wingspan of about 32 to 45 mm. The tulcis subspecies measures about 32 to 35 mm across the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The nominate form lives in the West Indies and southern Florida, sometimes wandering into northern Florida.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Frisia caterpillars feed on the plant Beloperone guttata. Tulcis caterpillars have been recorded feeding on Dicliptera species. Adult butterflies drink flower nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
In southern Texas adults are active from May through November.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
In the United States the nominate subspecies is found in southern Florida and occasionally northern Florida, while the tulcis subspecies reaches southern Texas and sometimes west Texas and southern Arizona.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The tulcis subspecies is also called the pale-banded crescent and some authors treat it as a separate species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 4 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, Kansas, Arizona.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
Frisia larvae feed on Beloperone guttata, while tulcis larvae feed on Dicliptera species.
Source: Wikipedia
Do adult Cuban crescents feed on anything besides nectar?
Adults feed on flower nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Where are Cuban crescents found in the United States?
The nominate form occurs in southern Florida and sometimes northern Florida; the tulcis form reaches southern Texas and occasionally west Texas and southern Arizona.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthanassa_frisia
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.