Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

  Sighting 1247107

Vesta or Graphic Crescent
Phyciodes graphica

Observation date: December 03, 2017
Date notes: sunny and mild
Submitted by: Medina Molly
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: For my own records, I'd originally labeled this photo I took back in 2017 as a Phaon Crescent, but in a reference book I recently purchased (the Swift guide), it may fit the description for Mexican Crescent better. Unlike Phaon, the outer band of orange spots on the forewing is relatively narrow; there appear to be small pale dots on that outer orange row of spots, but no black in the hindmost orange spot. (That hindmost spot is orange, rather than pale like that of Painted Crescent.) The photo was taken on my property in Central Texas (western Bandera County), apparently slightly north of its documented range, so I leave it to your experts to confirm this sighting (or dismiss it). The native plant it was on - Eupatorium havanense, is late-blooming, and intensely fragrant: it seems to draw in every flutterer in the region!
Status: Resident
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: October 12, 2022
Coordinator notes: Another coordinator corrected me; this is not actually P. pallescens, but P. graphica. JRains
Checklist region(s): United States, Texas, Bandera County

     Sighting location
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