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.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 193 - 216 of 436 verified sightings
Observation date: Dec 25, 2016
Submitted by: tysonbartlett55
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Dec 27, 2016
Observation date: Dec 12, 2016
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 20, 2016
Observation date: Nov 14, 2016
Submitted by: Marguerite Elliott
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Dec 11, 2016
Observation date: Oct 20, 2016
Submitted by: Shirley Wilkerson
Region: Brazos County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 14, 2016
Observation date: Nov 01, 2016
Submitted by: wallap74
Region: Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 06, 2016
Observation date: Nov 01, 2016
Submitted by: wallap74
Region: Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 06, 2016
Observation date: Nov 04, 2016
Submitted by: CA Ivy
Region: Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Nov 04, 2016
Observation date: Oct 16, 2016
Submitted by: Bonnie Morrison
Region: Howard County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 16, 2016
Observation date: Oct 14, 2016
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Collier County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 16, 2016
Observation date: Sep 24, 2016
Submitted by: hunter58
Region: Hernando County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 24, 2016
Observation date: Sep 04, 2016
Submitted by: jacobsjd
Region: Orange County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 04, 2016
Observation date: Aug 27, 2016
Submitted by: pumblebumble
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 27, 2016
Observation date: Aug 24, 2016
Submitted by: Redheart Canyonlands
Region: Bandera County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 24, 2016
Observation date: Aug 23, 2016
Submitted by: JenGillotti
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 24, 2016
Observation date: Aug 20, 2014
Submitted by: sunfire50
Region: Palm Beach County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 19, 2016
Observation date: Aug 20, 2014
Submitted by: sunfire50
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 15, 2016
Observation date: Jul 09, 2016
Submitted by: ndipaolo
Region: Monroe County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Jul 11, 2016
Observation date: Nov 07, 2015
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jul 04, 2016
Observation date: Jun 29, 2016
Submitted by: scfl47
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 02, 2016
Observation date: Jun 01, 2016
Submitted by: scfl47
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 01, 2016
Observation date: Apr 13, 2016
Submitted by: Deb Peterson
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 14, 2016
Observation date: Nov 03, 2015
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 05, 2016
Observation date: Feb 11, 2016
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Feb 12, 2016
Observation date: Oct 21, 2015
Submitted by: gpstewart
Region: Cameron County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 23, 2015
- ‹ previous
- 9 of 19
- next ›