Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Painted Crescent
Phyciodes picta (W.H. Edwards, 1865)


Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Upperside is dark with yellowish spots. Below, forewing apex and all of hindwing are yellow-cream with pale or absent markings.
Wing Span: 1 - 1 1/2 inches (2.5 - 3.8 cm).
Life History: Males patrol on flats all day for females. Eggs are laid in clusters on underside of host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: Two to three flights from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), aster, and hairy tubetongue (Siphonoglosssa pilosella).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Marshes, stream edges, and washes in short-grass prairie; fields, roadsides, fencerows.
Range: Nebraska, Kansas, and Colorado south to Texas, New Mexico, and western Arizona; northern Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Alternate Scientific Names:
Phyciodes pictus
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