Bug FAQField Crescent
Phyciodes pulchella · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Pearl Crescent
The field crescent is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 2.4 to 3.6 cm. It lives in the Nearctic region and flies from May through August in Canada. Its caterpillars eat plants in the aster family.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Phyciodes pulchella, called the field crescent, belongs to the butterfly family Nymphalidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The adult’s wingspan ranges from 24 to 36 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found throughout the Nearctic realm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on various Asteraceae species.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from May to August in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
The flight period is May through August in Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range is the Nearctic realm.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Similar species include the northern crescent, tawny crescent, Mylitta crescent, pale crescent, and pearl crescent (-).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 50 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phyciodes_pulchella
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.