Hi everyone, I like how Michael thinks, looking for those 'flys just outside our state but tantalizingly close. That's kind of how I was thinking when I found the Phaon Crescents in Shelby County 4 years ago. When I first got back into butterflying 5 years ago I kind of made a list of those closeby species and studied up on where they might be based on location and habitat. I thought the Phaon might be in Tennessee and Shelby County was a good place to look. I knew there were some places with large stands of fogfruit, so I went at the end of the summer, and lo and behold, they were there; lots of them! That's my one and only state record, so of course it holds a special place in my heart. So what have I learned in the past several years of observing them? For starters, it seems that you need large colonies of fogfruit. A few plants scattered around a lake or wet area doesn't seem to be enough. At Eagle Lake Wildlife Management Area where I first found them, there is a damp field that is cut periodically (right now they are cutting it too frequently) that is probably 2+ acres in size. Of that area, I would estimate around 20% is covered in fogfruit; same with the area around the headwaters of Piersol Lake in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. I also think they have only recently moved into Shelby County and Tennessee, because Shelby County had been covered fairly well before I started butterflying and it wasn't recorded. I found them the next year in Lauderdale County, then last year Allan Trently found them in Tipton and Haywood. They seem to appear by the end of June/beginning of July and increase in numbers throughout the rest of the summer and fall. I think the peak numbers hit around the end of September. I've seen them on every Meeman-Shelby Forest count until this year when I didn't see any. I went out today and still didn't see any, but we are having a very poor year for Pearl Crescents, so they may be down as well or just lagging behind. That's kind of what happened last year, although I did get a few on the count, they really didn't bust out until the end of July. I wouldn't be surprised if they are found in the counties in the western half of West Tennessee, but I would be really surprised to find them further east, but one never counts anything out. My feeling is they are moving north and east, so if you don't find them now, maybe in a few years you will with global warming and all. Remember, most of the fun is in the looking! So look! Bart Jones Memphis, Shelby County Note the photo of the Phaon Underside shows the fogfruit flower. Also, I've attached a photo with a Pearl and a Phaon Crescent for comparison. From: mlbierly@xxxxxxxxxxxxx To: tn-butterflies@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [TN-Butterflies] Re: Phaon Crescent and fogfruit verbena Date: Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:23:43 -0500 Since I finally got a Pearl Crescent for the year, I thought I would look into the other crescent in Tennessee, the rare (at least in Tennessee) Phaon Crescent. The Phaon Crescent is known in Tennessee from only four counties, all in West Tennessee--Haywood, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Tipton. This makes some sense as the species is in the mid plains though on the western side of Arkansas and Missouri, the two states that border Tennessee on the west. Because of occurrences on the western side of the two adjoining states, records further east in Tennessee might be range limited. However, there is a group of records in Alabama and scattered in Mississippi so Tennessee should be in the mix, at least at times. The key here, as in most cases, is the host plants, fogfruit verbena; Lance Leaf Fogfruit, Phyla lanceolata, and mat grass, Lippia nodiflora. These species may not be familiar to all, at least not to me. From the map below, you can see that Lance Leaf Fogfruit occurs in 43 counties in Tennessee though how common is unknown to me, but because of its occurrence the Phaon Crescent could be present. According to BAMONA, the adults nectar from flowers of Lippia and composites including shepherd's needle. So it seems to me that this species should folds its wings in other Tennessee counties and now may be the time. No record for this year yet, but Bart Jones had one in Shelby County in 2008 on July 6. Maybe Bart and any others who have had the species in the state or elsewhere can share some insight as to where they saw it, pointers for identification, and timing. Michael Lee Bierly, Nashville, Davidson County, TN Tennessee Counties For Pearl Crescent Lance Leaf Fogfruit (Phyla lanceolata) Phaon Crescent (Phyciodes phaon) Images of the plant, Lance Leaf Fogfruit, http://www.cas.vanderbilt.edu/bioimages/species/phla3.htm. _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_BR_life_in_synch_062009
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