''Anthocharis sara'', the Sara orangetip, is one of three species in the Sara orangetip complex. It has a population extending from Baja California into extreme southwest Oregon and another extending from the east slope of the Sierra Nevada into far western Nevada. The common name Pacific orangetip is obsolete since it implies a distribution that includes two separate species.

Taxonomy

''Anthocharis sara'' is part of the ''Anthocharis sara'' complex, along with the southwestern orangetip ('' Anthocharis thoosa'') and Julia orangetip ('' Anthocharis julia'').. Some have been spotted in the Grand Tetons Nation Park in June 2025. ''A. sara'' contains four recognized subspecies: * ''A. s. gunderi'' (Ingham, 1933), the Santa Catalina Island orangetip: Santa Catalina and Santa Cruz islands * ''A. s. pseudothoosa'' (Austin, 1998): east slope of the Sierra Nevada and adjacent regions * ''A. s. sara'' (Lucas, 1852): widespread west of the Sierra Nevada from the west coast of central Baja California north to southwestern Oregon * ''A. s. sempervirens'' (Emmel, Emmel & Mattoon, 2008): Redwood National Park

Life history

Like many butterfly species, they have strongly seasonal life cycles. ''A. sara'' have two consecutive flights at one point in the year and are not present for the other half of the year. The first brood lives from late January to April and the second brood lives from May to early July. There has been known to occasionally be some overlap between the two generations. In captivity, the pupae of ''A. sara'' have been observed staying in diapause for up to three years. The species is found in a variety of habitats including orchards, fields, meadows, and canyons.

Description

The adult female orange-tip has orange tips at the ends of its wings while the male has ultraviolet reflective tips that appear orange to human eyes but appear "bee purple" to the butterfly. Females lay creamy white eggs that turn orange-red a few hours after they are laid. Fifth instar ''A. sara'' larvae are a dark green color and have small black pinacula. The larvae are a plain green, and when they mature they form a light brown, thorn-shaped pupa.

Reproductive behavior

During the mating season, the males patrol, flying up and down a linear path as a way to increase the likelihood of sexual encounters with females. Males usually patrol by the sides of streams and roads in the canyon bottoms. There seems to be a hierarchy between the males in which the best sites are taken by the dominant males.

Host plants

''A. sara'' commonly lay their eggs on plants in the mustard family (

Cruciferae Brassicaceae () or (the older but equally valid) Cruciferae () is a medium-sized and economically important family of flowering plants commonly known as the mustards, the crucifers, or the cabbage family. Most are herbaceous plants, while some a ...

) such as ''Arabis perennans, Athysanus pusillus'', and ''Brassica nigra''. ''A. sara'' lay their eggs on the stems, pedicels, and the bases of petioles of these plants, and less commonly they have been known to lay their eggs on the buds, flowers, and leaves of these plants. When the larvae emerge, they eat the buds, flowers, and fruits of the host plants. ''A. sara'' have also been found on non-native host plants in California such as ''Barbarea verna, Barbarea vulagris, Brassica napus, Brassica nigra, Brassica rapa, Capsella bursa-pastoris, Hirschfeldia incana, Tropaeolum spp., Raphanus sativus, Sinapis alba, Sinapis arvensis'', and ''Sisymbrium officinale'' ''.''

References

Anthocharis Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1852 Taxa named by Hippolyte Lucas Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Mexico {{Pieridae-stub