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 217 - 240 of 436 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 22, 2014
Submitted by: fotog1939
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 07, 2015
Observation date: Jul 22, 2014
Submitted by: fotog1939
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 07, 2015
Observation date: Aug 16, 2015
Submitted by: Ellen Mee
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 18, 2015
Observation date: Aug 16, 2015
Submitted by: Ellen Mee
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 18, 2015
Observation date: Jul 19, 2015
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 26, 2015
Observation date: Mar 25, 2015
Submitted by: Ron Smith
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 26, 2015
Observation date: Jun 03, 2015
Submitted by: jcblithe
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 04, 2015
Observation date: May 22, 2015
Submitted by: jwunder3
Region: Orange County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: May 26, 2015
Observation date: May 17, 2015
Submitted by: Daytripper17
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 18, 2015
Observation date: May 02, 2015
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: May 06, 2015
Observation date: Mar 08, 2015
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 11, 2015
Observation date: Sep 11, 2014
Submitted by: mellielong
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 21, 2014
Observation date: Sep 01, 2014
Submitted by: annhsatt
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 04, 2014
Observation date: Sep 01, 2014
Submitted by: briankedwards
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 04, 2014
Observation date: Jul 28, 2014
Submitted by: awhite369
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 30, 2014
Observation date: Jul 26, 2014
Submitted by: awhite369
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 30, 2014
Observation date: Dec 10, 2013
Submitted by: LLJohnson
Region: Dominican Republic
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Mar 11, 2014
Observation date: Apr 07, 2013
Submitted by: bejart
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 28, 2014
Observation date: Jul 15, 2013
Submitted by: Olivier SWIFT
Region: Veracruz-Llave, Mexico
Verified by: John van Dort
Verified date: Jan 27, 2014
Observation date: Nov 01, 2013
Submitted by: Corey Trinkl
Region: Volusia County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 11, 2014
Observation date: Nov 08, 2013
Submitted by: kulaw301
Region: Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 20, 2013
Observation date: Oct 17, 2013
Submitted by: Gary The Villages
Region: Sumter County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 19, 2013
Observation date: Oct 05, 2013
Submitted by: MaryAnn Friedman
Region: Okaloosa County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 08, 2013
Observation date: Nov 18, 2006
Submitted by: JerryE
Region: Brazoria County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 14, 2013
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