Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Stray, Accidental, or Historic

Orange-barred Sulphur Phoebis philea

Orange-barred Sulphur (Phoebis philea)

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Butterfly: Wingspan: 2¾ - 3½ inches (7.0 - 8.6 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Male: bright yellow; bright orange forewing bar. Hindwing yellow with orange edges. Female: golden yellow (winter form) with hindwing suffused with orange/red; or creamy white (summer form) with narrow dark border. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Male: bright yellow with small dark spots. Female: orange yellow (summer form) with fine dark mottling; winter form more heavily marked.

Egg: White turning yellow; spindle shaped. Laid singly on new growth of host. 

Caterpillar: Two color forms. (1) Typically green tinged with yellow; chain of black triangles on sides; many very short, black spines. (2) Yellow with black patches on sides.  Caterpillars that eat leaves are green; those that eat flowers become yellow.

Chrysalis: Two color forms. (1) Light blue green; yellow lateral line on abdomen; dark green mid-dorsal line; wing veins pale. (2) Light purple/rose mottled with white and yellow; wing veins yellow.

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Orange-barred Sulphurs became established in Florida in the late 1920’s and have become common residents.  They fly year-round in south Florida and spread north each year, but they are uncommon in the Panhandle. Although these sulphurs are less migratory than Cloudless Sulphurs, there are numerous records throughout the eastern United States.  Alabama’s documented sighting occurred on December 2, 2013, when both Patsy Russo and Ben Garmon photographed a winter-form female on Dauphin Island.   

Distribution and Abundance

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: Mobile

  • Map Symbol for Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 years
  • Map Symbol for Semi-Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
  • Map Symbol for Old Sightings Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

  • 1 - Mobile - 12/2/2013
County Distribution Map

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
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Habitat

Open, disturbed sites including parks, gardens, and roadsides. 

Host and Nectar Plants

Various woody sennas (Senna spp.) are reported in Florida. 

No host plant has been documented in Alabama.