Orange-barred Sulphur Butterfly (Phoebis philea)
Pricing: Dead (spread, as pictured): $30 (each) for males
Geographic Range: Southern U.S.A. to Southern Brazil & West Indies
View: Top View Sex: Female (top) & Male (bottom)
Image Copyright 2003
Barbara Strnadova
The Orange-barred Sulphur is a striking butterfly throughout its entire range. One of the most beautiful of the sulphurs, there are several subspecies throughout its range. A fast flier, it is also a common butterfly within its breeding range, which is very vast. Straying as far north as Nebraska and New York as a migrant, it thrives year-round in the Neotropics all the way to Brazil. It also lives in Cuba and Hispaniola. Adults feed on nectar while larvae eat Cassia and other related plants, like Caesalpinia pulcherrima. Caterpillars are light green with tiny black spots along their back from which grow short, black spines.