Seminole Crescents in NC! First NC record

[Randy Emmitt]

Folks,

Last weekend Mike Turner found 115 Seminole Crescents in Calhoun County 
(central) South Carolina. Given the number and the fact I'd never seen the 
species before I set out early Saturday morning to find them and photograph 
them. I got there at 10:30AM and it was nearly noon before any started 
flying. By 1PM I'd seen around 80 Seminole Crescents and photographed 5-6 
of them including a very tiny one and a very large one. The tiny ones were 
the size of a small Phyciodes phaon and the larger ones (I assumed they 
were females) were the size of Chlosyne nycteis.

I spent the night in a motel in SC and today I worked my way down the Swamp 
Fox Highway (highway 904)from the northeastern Edge of Columbus County NC 
to the southeastern edge of Columbus County NC. I found the 3 Seminole 
Crescents just as I was about to give it up as clouds were moving in fast. 
This is as far as I know a first NC record for the species, unless Harry 
leGrand found soon this weekend also. The NC  photo can be found on the 
front page at http://carolinabutterflysociety.org/ all three seen were very 
well worn all in the same area on Brazilian Verbena and a small white 
aster. One thing I found funny when I found them was all the Green Anoles 
in the area as the SC seminole spot had them everywhere also, perhaps 
Seminole Crescent are a favorite food? The sight also had a small 
poinsettia growing in it which was abundant in the SC locations yet I've 
never seen it at all in NC before.

All 3 Seminole Crescents seen in NC were badly worn as in the photo. The 
ones in SC were mostly fresh with only a handful worn. In SC I recorded and 
photographed Seminole Crescents in Calhoun County (80+), Richland County 
(4) and Sumter County (2) on Saturday.


I plan on adding the SC photos (tripod shots) to my page at
http://www.rlephoto.com/butterflies/butterflies.html as soon as time permits.

Randy Emmitt
Rougemont, NC



 
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