Mating Pearl Crescents

On the same trip to Fairview Farm when I met the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and the Snowberry Clearwing Moth, I also met more common fauna. One interesting encounter was either 1 or 2 pairs of mating Pearl Crescent butterflies. (By my standards, this was a fairly successful outing.)

When butterflies/moths (and some other insects) mate, they face away from each other with the ends of their abdomens (temporarily) attached. The attachment is fairly robust; they can fly off without disengaging [1].

Though we have smaller butterflies than the Pearl Crescents (e.g. Eastern Tailed-blues, Spring/Summer Azures, American Coppers), Pearl Crescents are small enough that it's not easy to tell them apart. When I saw mating pairs a few minutes apart, I was suspicious they might have been the same mating pair. I don't think they look identical, but I also wasn't able to get the same views of them.

Of course, the Pearl Crescent is a very common butterfly, so the idea that I encountered 2 pairs of them a few minutes apart is more than feasible. As for the mating activity part, this does make it more likely that these were a single pair. On the other hand, as adults butterflies have basically 3 jobs:
  1. Feeding (drinking nectar and other fluids).
  2. Breeding.
  3. Avoiding getting eaten.
With no further interruption, here are the butterflies.

August 8, 2022 at Fairview Farm
Photo 248393570, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

August 8, 2022 at Fairview Farm
Photo 248393686, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


[1] If you think you recognize a butterfly in flight but it looks larger and "busier" than it should, you might be seeing a mating pair in flight.

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