Tagged With: Phyciodes tharos

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos)

I stopped at the commuter parking lot on Georgia Avenue where it crosses the Intercounty Connector today and took some pictures of insects on wildflowers growing on the hillside above the parking lot. I had originally stopped because there were beautiful clouds to the northwest but by the time I got there the sky was pretty much a uniform grey. There were goldenrod soldier beetles (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) all over the goldenrod (which makes a lot of sense) and there were quite a few types of bees. I followed this little butterfly around a while until I was able to get close enough for a few decent photographs. The one taken after this is considerably closer but not as sharp, unfortunately. The dwindling light from the heavy overcast was makign it hard. But I enjoyed being out in the wind and with insects all around.

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Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

I sent outside for a little while today and took some pictures of butterflies. I was down near the storm management pond next to my building and saw pearl crescents (Phyciodes tharos) as seen here as well as cabbage whites (Pieris rapae). There were also bees around, but not so many as there were only a few weeks ago. Getting good photographs of butterflies is challenging but it’s something I enjoy. This is a mid-sized butterfly, considerably smaller than the swallowtails or monarch but larger then the blue, featured recently. They are fairly common and easily spotted but as with most butterflies, difficult to get too close to.

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Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Our outdoor church service has been moved forward from 10:45 to 9:30 because of the heat. After church we decided to go for a walk on the Blue Mash Trail on Zion Road, behind the Oaks Landfill. We enjoyed being out, although it was a warm day, close to 90°F. Thankfully there’s a fair amount of shade. In addition to this daisy, there was a purple flowered vetch (Vicia species) and a few other wildflowers showing off for the insects. After our walk we stopped at Johnson’s because Cathy wanted to get some black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). They didn’t have any. Then we had a picnic lunch at Olney Manor Park with sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s before coming home.

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Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

We were out at Rocklands again today. They were having a picnic for their Cellar Club and asked if I’d come to take pictures. Since many of the pictures were of people but people that I don’t really know, I decided to post this one. It’s a pearl crescent butterfly (Phyciodes tharos) and it was in Janis’ garden. This is a fairly common little butterfly but you do sometimes have to pay attention to see them. They aren’t particularly flashy. I also took pictures of a few flowers and a nice shot of a soldier beetle.

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Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Phyciodes tharos (Pearl Crescent)

Dorothy, Cathy, and I went to Great Falls today. The river was quite high and the bridges to Olmsted Island were closed but we enjoyed seeing the raging rapids anyway. We walked down the canal to widewater. There were more herons about that we’ve seen on a single outing any time we could remember. We saw a black snake, a few ducks and a family of geese. We saw a fairly large snapping turtle, as well. This butterfly, a pearl crescent (Phyciodes tharos) was on a leaf by the side of the tow path and I was able to get quite close before it flew off.

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