July 10, 2009. Lowe's, 7034 Charlotte Pike, Nashville, Davidson County, TN
360759N (36.13299) and 0865418W (-86.90497)
Well, it isn't Wednesday, but I needed a couple of things for the garden
and could not wait, so off to Lowe's with my shoot and pray in hand. From a
previous experience, one needs to watch for 'flys stealing lunch and I was
not disappointed. At least five Sachems were darting around enjoying
Coreopsis that were on a long table. At the end of the table, just as I was
leaving, I spied an orange and black 'fly feeding on blossoms low in the
plants. My best analysis is Pearl Crescent. The individual never did feed on
top where there were many more blooms, but stayed down in the plants. It
certainly was more protected and out of the breeze. As I let it do its
thing, all the images are looking down into the plants. Reading on the
species, there are spring and summer forms, which are variable, and
individuals can be sexed. The problem is, something I find not unique in
butterfly identification guides, one is not told how to tell the difference
between the two forms or how to sex individuals. I have no idea the form,
but suspect that this is a male. Comments and field marks on form and sex
are appreciated. I expect the species to show up at the Manor. I note that
Tennessee only has one other crescent, that being Phaon, while North
Carolina has five, some very similar to the Pearl. The Pearl Crescent in
North Carolina is found in all 100 counties, while in Tennessee, 17 counties
out of 95 don't have a BAMONA record. Looking at the surrounding records on
the BAMONA map, the species should occur in every Tennessee county.
Michael Lee Bierly, Nashville, Davidson County, TN
Attachment:
Pearl Crescent (1) 07-10-09 Lowe's (800).jpg
Description: JPEG image
Attachment:
Pearl Crescent (2) 07-10-09 Lowe's (800).jpg
Description: JPEG image
