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 265 - 288 of 436 verified sightings
Observation date: Nov 25, 2012
Submitted by: JAKeverline
Region: Texas, Williamson County, United States
Verified by: kmortensen
Verified date: Jan 04, 2013
Observation date: Dec 25, 1971
Submitted by: stomlins701
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: aahewetson
Verified date: Dec 26, 2012
Observation date: Aug 17, 1968
Submitted by: stomlins701
Region: Texas, Webb County, United States
Verified by: aahewetson
Verified date: Dec 26, 2012
Observation date: Jul 29, 1990
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Jim Brock)
Region: Mohave County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Sep 20, 2003
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Priscilla & Hank Brodkin)
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 27, 1983
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Jim Brock)
Region: Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Sep 25, 1990
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Kilian Roever)
Region: Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Sep 24, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Robert Behrstock)
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 18, 1983
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Ken Hansen)
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Jun 10, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Marcus Lindberg)
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 22, 1990
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Nov 18, 2005
Submitted by: John Saba (John Saba)
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 22, 2012
Submitted by: jkbckayaker
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 07, 2012
Observation date: Aug 05, 2012
Submitted by: anislandmom
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 20, 2012
Observation date: Jun 28, 2012
Submitted by: scfl47
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 04, 2012
Observation date: Jul 16, 2011
Submitted by: SherryPopham
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 09, 2012
Observation date: Aug 08, 2009
Submitted by: Trinity Cove
Region: Chambers County, Texas, United States
Verified by: kmortensen
Verified date: Jul 01, 2012
Observation date: Apr 01, 2012
Submitted by: jbeau47
Region: Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 27, 2012
Observation date: Mar 31, 2012
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 27, 2012
Observation date: Aug 31, 2011
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Pete Spino)
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 07, 1994
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Dec 21, 2008
Submitted by: Larry522
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 14, 2011
Observation date: May 05, 2011
Submitted by: pam
Region: Manatee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 30, 2011
Observation date: Jul 29, 2008
Submitted by: naomiblinick
Region: Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Verified by: paulopler
Verified date: May 03, 2011
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