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 145 - 168 of 436 verified sightings
Observation date: Jan 18, 2019
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 13, 2019
Observation date: Apr 09, 2019
Submitted by: Reiden
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 10, 2019
Observation date: Mar 02, 2019
Submitted by: Keysgirl
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 03, 2019
Observation date: Mar 02, 2019
Submitted by: Keysgirl
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 03, 2019
Observation date: Feb 25, 2019
Submitted by: kellydfl
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 03, 2019
Observation date: Jan 13, 2019
Submitted by: GinaT
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 13, 2019
Observation date: Jan 02, 2019
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 03, 2019
Observation date: Jun 14, 1988
Submitted by: MissMary1224
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 03, 2019
Observation date: Dec 13, 2018
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 13, 2018
Observation date: Nov 05, 2018
Submitted by: Jeff Trahan
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 25, 2018
Observation date: Nov 07, 2018
Submitted by: hiker96
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 21, 2018
Observation date: Nov 05, 2018
Submitted by: Jeff Trahan
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 21, 2018
Observation date: Nov 10, 2018
Submitted by: Christine Mooney
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 10, 2018
Observation date: Oct 29, 2018
Submitted by: Diane R Halpin
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 31, 2018
Observation date: Oct 27, 2018
Submitted by: Christine Mooney
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 27, 2018
Observation date: Jul 18, 2018
Submitted by: Bixia
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 13, 2018
Observation date: Oct 23, 2004
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 10, 2018
Observation date: Jul 04, 2018
Submitted by: Bixia
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 03, 2018
Observation date: Jul 18, 2018
Submitted by: Bixia
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 03, 2018
Observation date: Jul 24, 2018
Submitted by: cjwcat
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 21, 2018
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: therapypetz
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 05, 2018
Observation date: Oct 04, 2016
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jul 04, 2018
Observation date: Apr 28, 2018
Submitted by: Greg Braun
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 22, 2018
Observation date: May 20, 2018
Submitted by: katrohrer
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 22, 2018
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