Cloudless Sulphur - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 2 to 2¾ inches (5.4 - 7.0 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Male lemon yellow with no markings. Female yellow or white; outer edges of both wings have irregular, patchy black borders; upper forewing has a dark spot. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Lemon yellow Male wings with tiny markings. Female more heavily marked. Both sexes has two pink-edged silver spots on hindwing. Late season form 'rosa' has pink wing edges.

ID Tip: Large yellow wings with no solid black wing edges

Egg: Spindle shaped. White, then quickly turn orange. Laid singly on host leaves or flower buds.

Caterpillar: Color and pattern variable: may be green with a bright yellow stripe; green with a bright yellow stripe and blue patches on sides; yellow with bright yellow line on sides; yellow with bright yellow line on sides and black rings. All have varying degrees of short hairs that come from tiny black tubercles.

Chrysalis: Green, yellow, or rosy. Greatly compressed from side to side. Sharply pointed head. Resembles a leaf.

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The Cloudless Sulphur is one of the most common and conspicuous butterfly species in Alabama. It flies from border to border throughout spring, summer, and fall. Cloudless Sulphurs undertake a massive southward migration in the fall, and autumn populations rise to astonishing numbers as northern migrants join local populations. Southbound individuals are common sights along interstate highways and other roads, covering as many as twelve miles per day. Even so, Cloudless Sulphurs are more cold-tolerant than most southeastern sulphurs, and some adults overwinter in much of Alabama. None of the immature stages can survive freezing temperatures.

Cloudless Sulphurs are strong, fast fliers. Males patrol throughout the day in search of females. They seek to entice potential mates by first touching the wings and then releasing pheromones. If already mated, the female signals rejection by flattening her wings and lifting her abdomen. Cloudless Sulphurs are avid nectarers. They have an exceptionally long proboscis (mouthpart) which allows them to access nectar from long-tubed plants that are inaccessible to other butterflies. It is common to see them sipping from plants like Cardinal Flower that typically feed hummingbirds.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

108 - Baldwin - 9/14/2023
75 - Franklin - 9/25/2016
75 - Cleburne - 9/9/2020

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
55	9	11	17	26	25	47	140	98	154	243	243	156	146	171	159	155	142	77	112	112	75	41	123	115	200	150	344	376	551	578	998	989	1200	1058	978	580	576	419	310	268	219	130	91	84	59	34	85

Open areas including agricultural lands, parks, roadsides, vacant fields, utility right-of-ways, meadows, and gardens. Virtually any sunny, disturbed area.

Cloudless Sulphur (*Phoebis sennae*)

County

© Sara Bright

Drifts of Common Partridge Pea at woodland edge

Reports from nearby states list members of the Pea family (Fabaceae) -- especially partridge peas (Chamaecrista spp.) and sennas (Senna spp.).

The following have been documented in Alabama:

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Plant Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) to support many sulphurs, including Cloudless Sulphurs.

Since Cloudless Sulphurs have an exceptionally long proboscis (mouthpart) they can access nectar from the same long-tubed plants that feed hummingbirds. Include native azaleas (Rhododendron spp.), Trumpet Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis), and Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea) in your landscape to add beauty and to provide nectar for Cloudless Sulphur butterflies and Ruby Throated Hummingbirds.

Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.