Orange-barred Sulphur
Phoebis philea (Linnaeus, 1763)
Family: Pieridae
Subfamily: Coliadinae
Identification: Upperside of male bright yellow-orange; forewing has red-orange bar and hindwing has red-orange outer margin. The two forms of the female, one off-white and the other yellow-orange, are much larger than the male. Both have upperside of forewing with solid black cell spot and a submarginal row of broken, angled black smudges. Outer half of hindwing of yellow form is red-orange.
Wing Span: 2 3/4 - 4 inches (7 - 10.2 cm).
Life History: Swift, high fliers. Females lay single eggs on leaves and flowers of host plants; caterpillars prefer to feed on the flowers. Development is continous in the wet season.
Flight: Two-three flights in Florida, one in northern range from mid-late summer.
Caterpillar Hosts: Cassia species in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult Food: Nectar from many different flowers.
Habitat: Open lowland sites such as gardens, forest edges, parks, road edges.
Range: Resident from Brazil north to peninsular Florida and the Keys. Irregular wanderer to south Texas; extremely rare vagrant in Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Connecticut.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Get your 2023 BAMONA Gear!
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Thank you!
We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 407 verified sightings

Observation date: Aug 05, 2023
Submitted by: shark57
Region: St. Johns County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 23, 2023

Observation date: Sep 04, 2006
Submitted by: Lunamothdog
Region: Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jul 12, 2023

Observation date: Jul 03, 2023
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 05, 2023

Observation date: May 18, 2023
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 18, 2023

Observation date: Mar 19, 2023
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: San Jose, Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Apr 29, 2023

Observation date: Mar 25, 2023
Submitted by: Paul Prappas
Region: Cienfuegos, Cuba
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Mar 28, 2023

Observation date: Mar 02, 2023
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 02, 2023

Observation date: Mar 02, 2023
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 02, 2023

Observation date: Nov 13, 2022
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Nayarit, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023

Observation date: Jun 15, 2019
Submitted by: Markus M
Region: Jalisco, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023

Observation date: Nov 13, 2022
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Nayarit, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023

Observation date: Feb 09, 2023
Submitted by: Joceb2005
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 16, 2023

Observation date: Feb 08, 2023
Submitted by: gpro111
Region: Citrus County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 16, 2023

Observation date: Jun 03, 2016
Submitted by: Estherod
Region: United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Feb 09, 2023

Observation date: Nov 11, 2022
Submitted by: guy_incognito
Region: Puerto Rico
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Feb 07, 2023

Observation date: Jan 15, 2023
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 15, 2023

Observation date: Dec 18, 2022
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 20, 2022

Observation date: Dec 05, 2022
Submitted by: John Gibbons
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 07, 2022

Observation date: Aug 23, 2022
Submitted by: Rosa Ruperto
Region: Limon, Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Dec 01, 2022

Observation date: Nov 13, 2022
Submitted by: John Gibbons
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 25, 2022

Observation date: Nov 14, 2022
Submitted by: meleposky
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 18, 2022

Observation date: Nov 06, 2022
Submitted by: Keysgirl
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 17, 2022

Observation date: Nov 06, 2022
Submitted by: rchensley
Region: Comal County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 06, 2022

Observation date: Oct 25, 2022
Submitted by: Charlie Doggett
Region: Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Oct 25, 2022
- 1 of 17
- next ›