Pearl crescent butterfly

I think this is a pearl crescent butterfly, although the mylitta crescent looks very similar to it.  Given that I photographed this in central Alberta and that the mylitta lives further south of there, I have to assume it is the pearl crescent.

Crescents are medium (on the small side) sized butterflies.  They typically are orangey-brown with blackish markings on the wings.  The pearl crescent is found throughout most of southern Canada and the US.  Larvae feed on aster plants such as the familiar blue smooth aster.  Adults feed on the nectar from flowers and will lay eggs on the host plant.  The young caterpillars grow until their third moult and then enter into a period of hibernation.  In the spring, the young continue with their feeding and finally pupate to later emerge as adults.

I photographed the butterfly at f/5.6 but found that I did not get all of it in focus.  I changed the aperture to f/9 and shutter speed setting accordingly and took the shot again.  I found the second image was superior in that most of the butterfly was in focus.  You can see the result below.

Pearl crescent butterfly photographed at f/5.6 (above) and f/9 (below).

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com