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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 393 verified sightings
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
Observation date: Dec 06, 2015
Submitted by: PDunwiddie
Region: Pinar del Rio, Cuba
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 16, 2022
Observation date: Mar 25, 2018
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Camaguey, Cuba
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 16, 2022
Observation date: Feb 16, 2022
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Quintana Roo, Mexico
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 14, 2022
Observation date: Sep 21, 2022
Submitted by: julianajoy
Region: Manatee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: Jan 30, 2014
Submitted by: janazak
Region: Distrito Federal, Mexico
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: Mar 31, 2022
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Quintana Roo, Mexico
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 11, 2022
Observation date: Jul 18, 2017
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Chiapas, Mexico
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Oct 09, 2022
Observation date: Jan 23, 2014
Submitted by: janazak
Region: Distrito Federal, Mexico
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Oct 11, 2016
Submitted by: shakespearenut
Region: Hidalgo, Mexico
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jun 13, 2016
Submitted by: JimConrad
Region: Yucatan, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Dec 22, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 30, 2022
Observation date: Aug 24, 2022
Submitted by: Charlie Doggett
Region: Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Aug 24, 2022
Observation date: Aug 22, 2015
Submitted by: Charlie Doggett
Region: Bocas del Toro Province, Panama
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Aug 24, 2022
Observation date: Dec 17, 2021
Submitted by: honeymushroom
Region: Bastrop County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 23, 2022
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