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 241 - 264 of 436 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 16, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 04, 2013
Observation date: Aug 16, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 04, 2013
Observation date: Aug 16, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 31, 2013
Observation date: Jul 14, 2013
Submitted by: mgrosselet
Region: Veracruz-Llave, Mexico
Verified by: John van Dort
Verified date: Aug 27, 2013
Observation date: Aug 14, 2013
Submitted by: Brenda Lepuschitz
Region: Seminole County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 15, 2013
Observation date: Mar 13, 2013
Submitted by: pesto
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 14, 2013
Observation date: Jul 12, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 14, 2013
Observation date: Jun 19, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 31, 2013
Observation date: Jul 18, 2013
Submitted by: scfl47
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 25, 2013
Observation date: Jun 19, 2013
Submitted by: bentert
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 25, 2013
Observation date: Jul 13, 2013
Submitted by: Richard L. Becker
Region: Duval County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 14, 2013
Observation date: Jun 21, 2013
Submitted by: LMurrell
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 25, 2013
Observation date: May 12, 2013
Submitted by: dswank
Region: Orange County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 20, 2013
Observation date: May 16, 2013
Submitted by: Englishman
Region: Hernando County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 20, 2013
Observation date: May 01, 2013
Submitted by: Englishman
Region: Hernando County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 09, 2013
Observation date: Dec 11, 2012
Submitted by: Sandy White
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 09, 2013
Observation date: Nov 24, 2011
Submitted by: LLJohnson
Region: Dominican Republic
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Apr 18, 2013
Observation date: Nov 24, 2011
Submitted by: LLJohnson
Region: Dominican Republic
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Apr 18, 2013
Observation date: Jul 23, 1971
Submitted by: stomlins701
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 05, 2013
Observation date: Oct 11, 2012
Submitted by: Ltappan
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: kmortensen
Verified date: Mar 27, 2013
Observation date: Dec 07, 2012
Submitted by: markgraham
Region: St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: rickypatterson
Verified date: Mar 13, 2013
Observation date: Jan 29, 2013
Submitted by: PDunwiddie
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 09, 2013
Observation date: Sep 26, 2008
Submitted by: Shirley Wilkerson
Region: Texas, Washington County, United States
Verified by: aahewetson
Verified date: Mar 07, 2013
Observation date: Jan 12, 2013
Submitted by: Wallwiz
Region: Seminole County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 11, 2013
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