Distribution Map Key: dark blue = confirmed records; light blue = possible occurrence, unconfirmed
Part 3. Family: Pieridae - Sulphurs and Yellows
[Edited on 01/01/06 by bugdude]
White Angled-Sulphur (Anteos clorinde [Godart])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:36 PM
Wing span: 2 3/4 - 3 1/2 inches (7 - 9 cm).
Identification: Large. Apex of forewing hooked. Wings pale green, fading with age. Yellow bar in forewing cell; more diffuse in female.
Life history: Strong flyers; usually fly high and rapidly over the canopy or along rivers. Eggs are laid singly on edges of host plant leaves. No
distinct broods.
Flight: Many flights from August-December in south Texas, all year in the tropics.
Caterpillar hosts: Senna (Cassia spectabilis) in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from red or purple flowers including Lantana, Bougainvilla, and Hibiscus.
Habitat: Subtropical, open, sunny areas; migrants found almost anywhere.
Range: Resident from Argentina to Mexico; regular migrant to South Texas; occasional in Great Plains to Nebraska and northeast Colorado.
Remarks: Non-resident, considered a tropical stray.
Identification: Large. Apex of forewing hooked. Upperside of male bright yellow, female paler; both with black spot in forewing cell.
Life history: Fly high and swiftly. Female usually lays several eggs on a single plant. Caterpillars eat leaves and develop continously during the wet
season.
Flight: Two flights, April and August-December, in South Texas; all year in Central and South America.
Caterpillar hosts: Cassia (Cassia emarginata) in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from red and purple flowers including Hibiscus and Bougainvilla.
Habitat: Subtropical, open, sunny areas; migrants found almost anywhere.
Range: Resident from Peru to Mexico; rare, irregular migrant to southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, south Texas, Mississippi, and Florida.
Remarks: Non-resident, considered a tropical stray.
Lyside Sulphur (Kricogonia lyside [Godart])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:37 PM
Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 3/8 inches (3.8 - 6 cm).
Identification: Tip of forewing square-shaped. Upperside forewing of male white with yellow basal area; often with vertical black bar at wing edge.
Underside of hindwing has raised veins and satin sheen. Females occur in both yellow and white forms. Both sexes are extremely variable.
Life history: Caterpillars hide in bark crevices during the day, and come out to feed at night. Adults periodically make huge migrations.
Flight: Throughout the year in South Texas, April-August in Florida and to the north and east.
Caterpillar hosts: Plants in the Zygophyllaceae family: Lignum vitae (Guaiacum sanctum) in southern Florida and Porliera angustifolia in Texas.
Adult food: Flowers of black mangrove and shepherd's needle have been used as nectar sources in southern Florida.
Habitat: Tropical scrub lowlands and seasonally dry forests.
Range: Venezuela north to southern Texas, where it occurs in great numbers. Rare in southern Florida; strays to Colorado, Nebraska, Kentucky, and
other states.
Dainty Sulphur (Nathalis iole [Boisduval])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:38 PM
Wing span: 3/4 - 1 1/4 inches (2 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: Small, with elongated forewings. Upperside yellow with black markings, female with more extensive black than male. White form very
rare. Underside of forewing with orange or yellow patch at base of wing and black spots at outer wing edge. Winter form has dusty green hindwing,
summer form hindwing is pale yellow.
Life history: Males patrol a few inches above the ground in low areas for females. Females lay eggs singly on leaves of host plant seedlings. Adults
rest with wings closed and held perpendicular to the sun's rays to warm themselves.
Flight: Throughout the year in peninsular Florida and South Texas. After overwintering as adults in the South, some migrate north in spring and
summer. Flight of about 6 months in the north.
Caterpillar hosts: Low-growing plants in the aster family (Asteraceae) especially shepherd's needle (Bidens pilosa), sneezeweed (Helenium), fetid
marigold (Dyssodia), and cultivated marigold (Tagetes).
Adult food: Nectars at Labrador tea, asters, wild marigold, rabbitbrush, and others.
Habitat: Open, dry places including coastal flats, weedy fields, grasslands, road edges, meadows, and hillsides.
Range: Resident in Guatemala north to peninsular Florida and the Southwest. Cannot survive cold winters, therefore every summer re-colonizes through
the Great Plains to southeast Washington, southeast Idaho, Wyoming, and Minnesota.
Large Orange Sulphur (Phoebis agarithe [Boisduval])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:39 PM
Wing span: 2 1/4 - 3 3/8 inches (5.7 - 8.6 cm).
Identification: Upper surface of male bright orange with no markings. Two female forms, pink-white or yellow-orange. Underside forewing of both sexes
with straight submarginal line. Two seasonal forms; winter form has heavier underside markings.
Life history: Caterpillars eat new leaves.
Flight: All year in south Texas and south Florida, strays north in mid- to late summer.
Caterpillar hosts: Pithecellobium and Inga species in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of lantana, shepherd's needle, bougainvilla, rose periwinkle, turk's cap, and hibiscus.
Habitat: Open, tropical lowlands including gardens, pastures, road edges, trails, parks.
Range: Peru north to southern Texas and peninsular Florida. Rare stray to Colorado, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and New Jersey.
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.
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.
Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae [Linnaeus])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:40 PM
Wing span: 2 1/4 - 3 1/8 inches (5.7 - 8 cm).
Identification: Upper surface of male is lemon yellow with no markings. Female is yellow or white; outer edges of both wings with irregular black
borders; upper forewing with dark spot in cell. Lower surface of hindwing of both sexes with 2 pink-edged silver spots.
Life history: Males patrol with rapid flight, searching for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on young leaves or flower buds of host plants;
caterpillars eat leaves and rest on underside of leaf petioles.
Flight: Many flights year around in the Deep South; may have one flight in late summer in other southern states; immigrants to northern states in
August or September usually do not reproduce.
Caterpillar hosts: Cassia species in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from many different flowers with long tubes including cordia, bougainvilla, cardinal flower, hibiscus, lantana, and wild morning
glory.
Habitat: Disturbed open areas including parks, yards, gardens, beaches, road edges, abandoned fields, scrub.
Range: Permanent resident from Argentina north to southern Texas and the Deep South. Regular visitor and occasional colonist in most of the eastern
United States and the Southwest.
Statira Sulphur (Phoebis statira [Cramer])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:41 PM
Wing span: 2 3/8 - 3 1/8 inches (6 - 8 cm).
Identification: Upper surface of male wings divided by ridge of scales; outer half of wing pale yellow, inner half lemon yellow. Female lemon yellow
with black borders at apex and outer margin, solid black cell spot.
Life history: Females lay eggs singly on young leaves of host plants.
Flight: Many flights in Florida from June-February. Makes large migrations in the tropics.
Caterpillar hosts: In Florida, Dalbergia ecastophyllum and Calliandra, both in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from red-flowered plants including scarlet bush.
Range: Argentina north to southern Texas and southern Florida. Stray in southern Georgia, New Mexico, and Kansas.
Southern Dogface (Zerene cesonia [Stoll])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:42 PM
Wing span: 2 1/8 - 3 inches (5.4 - 7.6 cm).
Identification: Upperside forewings of both sexes have yellow "dog's head" surrounded by black. "Eye" does not touch black border. Female similar,
with duller, more diffuse black areas and 2 seasonal forms: underside hindwing of wet season "summer" form is yellow; that of dry season "winter" form
is mottled with black and pink.
Life history: Males patrol open areas for females. Eggs are laid on the undersides of terminal leaves of host plants. Adults overwinter in
reproductive arrest.
Flight: Three flights in the southern states from May-June, July-August, and September-April. Northern colonists have one generation per year, or do
not reproduce at all.
Caterpillar hosts: Small-leaved plants in the pea family (Fabaceae) including alfalfa (Medicago sativa); prairie clovers (Pentalostemon), indigo
(Dalea), and clover (Trifolium) species.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers including alfalfa, coreopsis, houstonia, and verbena.
Habitat: Dry, open areas such as short-grass prairie hills, scrub oak groves, open woodland, washes, road edges.
Range: Resident in South America north to southern Texas and peninsular Florida. Stray or temporary resident from central California northeast through
the Great Lakes area and all the eastern states.
California Dogface (Zerene eurydice [Boisduval])
bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 02:42 PM
Wing span: 2 - 2 1/2 inches (5.1 - 6.3 cm).
Identification: Black outer half of male forewing encloses yellow-orange "dog's head" tinged with light purple iridescence. Black "eye" very near or
touching the border. Hindwing yellow-orange, sometimes with black border. Female all yellow with a black upper forewing cell spot; sometimes with
scattered black scaling on outer half.
Life history: Males patrol for females.
Flight: Two flights from April-May and July-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Usually false indigo (Amorpha californica) in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Foothills, chaparral, oak or coniferous woodlands.
Range: North-central California south to Baja California, west of the central mountains and deserts. Very rare, local and threatened throughout its
range.
Do you know which of these yellow...
flyfishinPam - 2-17-2006 at 03:07 PM
... butterflies are found flying over the water offshore? We've been waaaay out on the Sea of Cortez and sometimes find lots of yellow butterflies
flying who knows where.bugdude - 2-17-2006 at 04:38 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by flyfishinPam
Do you know which of these yellow butterflies are found flying over the water offshore? We've been waaaay out on the Sea of Cortez and sometimes find
lots of yellow butterflies flying who knows where.
It would be hard to say which particular species you observed flying out in the Sea of Cortez without actually seeing the species or a specimen.
Offshore flight behavior is common and has been observed in many species of butterflies. Were your sightings unusual? Not at all.
There are several probable/possible causes of this phenomenon depending on whether they are migrating (in a preferred direction) or dispersing (in no
preferred direction). Most likely, high pressure weather systems often are ideal for generating thermals. These thermals always drift downwind, and
when a thermal that has formed over warm land drifts out over a cooler body of water, the supply of warm air feeding into the thermal is cut off and
the thermal dissipates. If the butterflies take longer to react to being drifted out to sea while riding thermals, the butterflies may be carried so
far off shore that they have to fly an hour or more to make it back. If the offshore wind picks up, they may never make it back. On the other hand, if
a sea breeze starts, butterflies that were struggling against a headwind may suddenly find themselves in a tailwind. They could then climb to higher
velocity winds above and be swept back to shore, once again flying high over the beach but in the opposite direction.
.
