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
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 376 verified sightings
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
Observation date: Jul 31, 2022
Submitted by: redneckroadie
Region: Seminole County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 06, 2022
Observation date: Nov 26, 2016
Submitted by: bobscafe
Region: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
Observation date: Dec 02, 2016
Submitted by: bobscafe
Region: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Verified by: Charlie Doggett
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Nov 05, 2020
Submitted by: Joceb2005
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 08, 2022
Observation date: Jan 21, 2022
Submitted by: jnchandler
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 30, 2022
Observation date: Dec 08, 2021
Submitted by: soobee54
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 10, 2021
Observation date: Nov 20, 2021
Submitted by: Tammy Depascale
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 20, 2021
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 29, 2021
Observation date: Oct 18, 2021
Submitted by: Argyle
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 18, 2021
Observation date: Aug 03, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 29, 2021
Observation date: Aug 23, 2021
Submitted by: rob77897@gmail.com
Region: Manatee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 10, 2021
Observation date: Sep 03, 2021
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Aug 13, 2021
Submitted by: LauraSea
Region: Nassau County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 13, 2021
Observation date: Aug 13, 2021
Submitted by: LauraSea
Region: Nassau County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 13, 2021
Observation date: Jul 01, 2021
Submitted by: LauraSea
Region: Nassau County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 01, 2021
Observation date: Jun 16, 2021
Submitted by: Mariatere
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 26, 2021
Observation date: Jun 02, 2021
Submitted by: Mariatere
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 05, 2021
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