''Phoebis philea'', the orange-barred sulphur, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

found in the Americas including the Caribbean. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 68 to 80 mm.Orange-barred Sulphur
Butterflies of Canada 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 In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

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 ''Aphrissa statira'', the statira sulphur, is a species of Lepidoptera in the family ''Pieridae''. The species is a medium-sized yellow butterfly, with females more pale than males. They are found from southern regions of Florida and Texas throug ...

''), apricot sulphur (''

Phoebis argante ''Phoebis argante'', the apricot sulphur or Argante giant sulphur, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. Description ''Phoebis argante'' has a wingspan of about . The uppersides of the male's wings are bright orange with a thin black or dark bro ...

''), and the straight-line sulphur (''

Rhabdodryas trite ''Rhabdodryas'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. The only species is the straight-line sulphur (''Rhabdodryas trite''). ''R. trite'' puddles with other yellows and sulphurs including the statira sulphur (''Aphrissa statira ' ...

''). The species eats

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

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

References

* * Coliadinae Lepidoptera of Mexico Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of Colombia Pieridae of South America Butterflies of Cuba Butterflies of Jamaica Lepidoptera of Brazil Fauna of the Amazon Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Butterflies described in 1763 Lepidoptera of Peru Fauna of Hispaniola Fauna of Costa Rica Fauna of Panama Lepidoptera of the United States Lepidoptera of Canada Lepidoptera of Venezuela {{Pieridae-stub