The Butterflies of the World Foundation

A Non-Profit Organization

Phaon Crescent

Phyciodes phaon,  (W. H. Edwards, 1864)

Subfamily Nymphalinae

Tribe Melitaeini

Phyciodes phaon, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                              Ref #:  I-531-4.3

Taxonomy

The family Nymphalidae is the largest butterfly family and includes about 6,000 species which are further divided up into 12 subfamilies.  The common name for the family is the Brushfoots or Brushfooted Butterflies.  This strange name is because the first pair of legs are significantly reduced, sometimes to mere stubs, and look like little brushes.  Some of the most common and well known species are in this group such as the Monarch, Red Admiral, Blue Morpho and Painted Lady.  Some of the longest lived butterflies are in this family with some species living over 10 months as adults.  The Brushfoots are distributed worldwide, with the highest diversity found in the tropics.  With this variety, there is also quite a difference in behavior, adult food choices and habitat preference from species to species.

Phyciodes phaon, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                              Ref #:  I-529-8.4

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Phyciodes phaon, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                              Ref #:  I-530-8.2

General Information:

Phyciodes phaon belongs to the subfamily Nymphalinae.  Its range is from Guatemala then north through to the southern U.S.  It is found in many open habitats including pastures, roadsides, trails and gardens.

Lifecycle:

The larval food source are various fogfruits, Phyla sp., in the verbena family.  Males patrol during daytime near the host plant and the eggs are laid in small groups on underside of host plant leaves.  The caterpillars eat the leaves.

Phyciodes phaon, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                               Ref #:  I-530-12

Phyciodes phaon, Oka’Yanahli Preserve, Johnston County, Oklahoma, 22 September 2012

                                                                                              Ref #:  I-531-1.4

Fogfruit, Phyla sp., a common larval food source, Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Osage County, Oklahoma,                                                                       Ref #:  F-64-5.2