> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.soul-riot.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Northern Crescent (maybe?) - URL: https://www.soul-riot.com/northern-crescent-maybe/ - Published: 2026-10-03T14:17:01.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-03T14:43:05.000Z - Description: A butterfly with chipped wings. - Author: Elena Corriero - Tags: Butterflies, Stories It was mid-August, and the Asters were just starting to bloom. This tiny Northern Crescent butterfly may have bloomed with them - the New England Aster is the host plant of the caterpillar. ![P8200021](https://bear-images.sfo2.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com/soulriot/p8200021.webp) ... plus an even tinier insect for bonus. I saw (and photographed) this butterfly two days in a row. On the second day, it seemed less bothered by my presence, and barely moved as I inched closer. The dark striped, orange-tipped antennae could indicate he's a male... at least by some accounts, and assuming he's a Northern Crescent and not a Pearl Crescent. These are supposedly two distinct varieties, but it seems everybody is really confused about the *actual* difference, and some say they may be the same butterfly, after all\*. I'm going with Northern, but my only certainty is that he’s a Crescent, because of his orange-brown coat framed by dark brown, and because of the white, moon-like crescents along the edge of the hind wings. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P8200048.jpg) Crescent butterflies have a tiny white crescent along the margin of their hind wings. Northern Crescents are supposed to have overall darker tones than Pearl Crescents. I had never seen a butterfly face to face (so to speak), but when I noticed the black dot in his eyes, always directed at me, I initially thought he was keeping track of my movements, just in case I got too close. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P8210069.jpg) He must be keeping an eye on me... Well, even though the black dot in the Crescent's eyes was always pointed at me, it wasn't really looking at me, because butterfly's vision does not work that way, and the dot that looks like a pupil.... is not a pupil at all! 🦋 Insects with compound eyes (like true butterflies, bees, cicadas) do not have a pupil, because their eyes are made up of thousands of tiny rod-like lenses called **ommatidia*. What appears to be a pupil is the optical illusion that is created when we look straight down into some of these rods, and because of that angle, no light is reflected at all. Hence, the so called pseudo-pupil will always face the observer. (Stavenga, 1979) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/P8210021-1.jpg) The pseudopupil is nothing but an optical illusion, and the appendages in between the eyes help a butterfly smell its environment. Another cool thing that I noticed for the first time were the appendages sitting between the eyes, to the side of the proboscis. They looked like horns, but I then learnt that - together with the antennae - they allow a butterfly to smell its environment. And they are called... labial palps! (Remember the [pedipalps](https://www.soul-riot.com/a-little-help/)? Similar, but different.) Sadly, the margin of "my" butterfly's left forewing was damaged, likely due to a collision or to a narrow escape from a predator. I confess that for a second I wondered if they could be repaired... But fortunately, he didn't seem to have problems flying. Apparently, butterflies can fly even with extensive damage, especially if the damage is on the lateral margin, like in my Northern's case (and not on the leading edge or on the hind wings)\*\*. The Crescent was going to be fine. (I, by contrast, had to sit down for about an hour, sipping ice water and sugar, after more than 30 minutes standing motionless and hunched over in the blazing August sun.) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/eb/6f/eb6faa5c-5ec1-4a1f-9729-ab918987e2a2/content/images/2026/09/14D004EE-17D7-41A9-ABDD-1EC10398FAAE_1_105_c.jpeg) Elena Corriero *All photos shot handheld; OM5 mark ii + OM 60mm, Godox V350 & AK diffuser* --- 🦋 \*[Life of the scaled and beautiful: Pearl and Northern Crescent](https://academics.hamilton.edu/biology/ewilliam/publications/AmerBut%5F17%5F4-13.pdf?ref=soul-riot.com). ◀️ An in-depth article about Crescents and the (supposed) difference between the two species. The article explains that the butterfly's name does not come from the crescent on the wing margins! 🦋 \*\*[Effects of natural wing damage on flight performance in **Morpho* butterflies: what can it tell us about wing shape evolution?](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31371404/?ref=soul-riot.com) ◀️ This study examined the impact of wing damage on flight performance, and found that the location of the damage determines what impact it will have on a butterfly's ability to fly. Damage to the leading margin (the anterior edge) appeared to reduce the butterfly's speed and ability to glide. The authors caught butterflies with damaged wings, but also healthy butterflies in the wild, and "artificially generated more severe wing damage" by keeping 25 butterflies in a small mesh cage (4 m×2 m×1.8 m) for 3 days to induce collisions. After the experiment, the butterflies were placed in a freezer to preserve them. What struck me is that the authors note that the damage caused by collisions in the mesh cage did not reflect the typical damage occurring in nature (p.4). Now, to me, that sounds a bit cruel. Was it really necessary to generate more damage, and of a type that is not frequently found in natural circumstances? Could it have been enough to observe how flight patterns were affected by *existing damage*? I guess the answer depends on your take on the sentience of non-human animals, but here's a statement by the [Royal Entomological Society](https://www.royensoc.co.uk/insect-welfare-and-best-practices/?ref=soul-riot.com) on the use of insects in research. > "The RES acknowledges the growing body of evidence suggesting that **insects exhibit complex behaviours and responses to stimuli**, which warrants careful consideration of their welfare in scientific contexts. While the extent of their sentience is an ongoing area of study, it is important that we recognise the responsibility researchers have to minimise harm and ensure that their use in research is conducted ethically." 🌸 [Detroit Wildflowers Nursery](https://www.detroitwildflowers.com/home?ref=soul-riot.com) ◀️ A local (to Michigan) resource for buying native wildflowers and getting some solid advice. That's where it all started for me.