Phoebis philea

Phoebis philea
Adult male - ventral view
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Phoebis
Species:	P. philea
Binomial name
Phoebis philea (Linnaeus, 1763)
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]

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

The wingspan is 68 to 80 mm. 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). The species eats nectar from red-colored plants.

The larvae feed on Cassia species.

Subspecies

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

Gallery

Pinned specimens, both sides

Larvae hosting on Cassia Bakeriana in Miami

Larvae hosting on Cassia Bakeriana in Miami

References

• P. Brock, Jim; Kaufman, Kenn (2003). Butterflies of North America. New York, New York: Houghtin Mifflin Company. p. 76. ISBN 0-618-25400-5.
• "Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea)". Learn about Butterflies. Retrieved 2012-04-05.