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.
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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
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