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 97 - 120 of 435 verified sightings
Observation date: Dec 03, 2020
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 03, 2020
Observation date: Oct 11, 2020
Submitted by: Argyle
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 12, 2020
Observation date: Oct 03, 2020
Submitted by: pegreinhart
Region: St. Johns County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 05, 2020
Observation date: Sep 02, 2020
Submitted by: Reiden
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Aug 21, 2020
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 21, 2020
Observation date: Jul 16, 2020
Submitted by: pegreinhart
Region: St. Johns County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 16, 2020
Observation date: Jul 09, 2020
Submitted by: Rick Newman
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 10, 2020
Observation date: Jun 28, 2020
Submitted by: GinaT
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 01, 2020
Observation date: Jun 11, 2020
Submitted by: eroutside
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 01, 2020
Observation date: May 09, 2020
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 09, 2020
Observation date: Mar 26, 2020
Submitted by: Englishman
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 27, 2020
Observation date: Mar 18, 2020
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 19, 2020
Observation date: Feb 22, 2020
Submitted by: raven10322
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Feb 29, 2020
Observation date: Jan 23, 2020
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 24, 2020
Observation date: Dec 23, 2019
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 29, 2019
Observation date: Dec 17, 2019
Submitted by: louvis11
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2019
Observation date: Nov 28, 2019
Submitted by: StumpyCat
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 29, 2019
Observation date: Nov 29, 2019
Submitted by: StumpyCat
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 29, 2019
Observation date: Nov 11, 2019
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 12, 2019
Observation date: Nov 11, 2019
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 12, 2019
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 06, 2019
Observation date: Sep 27, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 27, 2019
Observation date: Sep 18, 2019
Submitted by: Brendavent
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 18, 2019
Submitted by: Brendavent
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
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