Phoebis philea, the orange-barred sulphur, is a species of butterfly found in the Americas including the Caribbean.[2]

Phoebis philea
Adult male - ventral view

Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Phoebis
Species:
P. philea
Binomial name
Phoebis philea
Synonyms
  • Papilio philea Linnaeus, 1763
  • Callidryas philea (Linnaeus, 1763)
  • Papilio aricye Cramer, [1776]
  • Papilio melanippe Stoll, [1781]
  • Colias lollia Godart, 1819
  • Colias aricia Godart, 1819
  • Colias corday Hübner, [1819]

The wingspan is 68 to 80 mm.[2] There are two to three generations per year in Florida and one in the northern part of the range with adults on wing from mid to late summer. The species habitat is in tropical scrub, gardens, fields, and forest edges. Orange-barred sulphurs are often found in large dense groups of mixed species, including the statira sulphur (Aphrissa statira), apricot sulphur (Phoebis argante), and the straight-line sulphur (Rhabdodryas trite).[3] The species eats nectar from red-colored plants.

The larvae feed on Cassia species.

Subspecies edit

  • Phoebis philea philea (Linnaeus, 1763) (US to Brazil)
  • Phoebis philea huebneri Fruhstorfer, 1907 (Cuba)
  • Phoebis philea thalestris (Illiger, 1801) (Hispaniola)

Gallery edit

 
Pinned specimens, both sides
 
Larvae hosting on Cassia Bakeriana in Miami
 
Larvae hosting on Cassia Bakeriana in Miami

References edit

  1. ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0 Phoebis philea Orange-barred Sulphur". explorer.natureserve.org. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  2. ^ a b Orange-barred Sulphur, Butterflies of Canada
  3. ^ "Butterflies of Amazonia - Aphrissa statira". www.learnaboutbutterflies.com. Retrieved 2017-11-14.