Phyciodes in Washington County

[Jeff Cagle]

Frode Jacobsen just dropped a tranche of lovely Phyciodes photos on iNat.

Capture date is Aug 25.  Location is Wash Co, northern part of Indian Springs if the pin is accurate.

One of the photos particularly caught my eye because it shows an orange-below antennal club.  

In terms of ID, location and date favor Pearl.  Buuutt...

Thoughts?  https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/334145404

Jeff

[Rick Borchelt]



The character only works for males, and this one looks more like a heavily marked female although with the angle it’s difficult to tell. Which of course is why multiple photos give you the best chance of ID. Habitat and behavior notes would also be helpful, as would a clearer indication of size. Harry may well have an easier time parsing it. 

The location generally is a good one for cocyta, however. Several populations I know of in Indian Springs WMA. 

On Jan 10, 2026, at 7:37 am, Jeff Cagle <jeffre...@gmail.com> wrote:

Frode Jacobsen just dropped a tranche of lovely Phyciodes photos on iNat.

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[Harry Pavulaan]

Female.  Impossible to tell.

Harry

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[Jeff Cagle]

Thanks all.  So to clarify: An orange nudum (as opposed to orange tip) can occur with females of both species?

[Rick Borchelt]

Yes. For me, females are best identified by association with known males — tharos and cocyta-group in my experience with these taxa seldom fly together at the same time or in the same habitat, so the populations tend to be distinct. Generally, the cocyta-group females are also noticeably larger than females in the same area. 

The cocyta-group crescents in Indian Springs WMA illustrate this well. Look for them in the palustrine meadows and damp, shady wood margins along the trail leading up north from the parking lot at Indian Springs Pond off Mooresville Road. Here near the PA border they fly between the first and second flights of tharos, and the females are huge. Pearl Crescents fly here also, but usually in the drier ruderal habitats along the road and parking lot. 

On Jan 11, 2026, at 7:16 am, Jeff Cagle <jeffre...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks all.  So to clarify: An orange nudum (as opposed to orange tip) can occur with females of both species?

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[Harry Pavulaan]

Jeff, Rick, all:

I'll add that, over the years I've studied this population of Crescents on the Virginia side, females of either tharos or cocyta can have antenna clubs ranging from entirely orange to entirely black.  Like Rick mentioned, females are best identified by association with males of either species.

Harry

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