Who am I? ²

Hello there! I am Phoebis sennae, the Cloudless Sulphur! Fun fact about my name: Phoebis comes from the name Phoebe (who's the sister of Apollo in Greek and Roman mythology) and sennae comes from the genus name Senna (one of my favorite host plants!). I absolutely adore red flowers, and quite literally would die for them too. I actually know a few friends who have gotten a little too close to the red taillights on cars... Anyways! We tend to have a similar migration behavior and toxin deterrent as Monarchs do. Only, we don't travel as far and our defense mechanisms come from eating Senna and Cassia plants as children.

Quick facts ²

Common name: Cloudless Sulphur

Scientific name:Phoebis sennae (Linnaeus 1758)

Family: Pieridae - Coliadinae

Characteristics:

• Wing span: 2 1/4 - 3 1/8 inches (5.7 - 8 cm)
• Males: upperside is lemon yellow, no markings
• Males are seasonally dimorphic - tend to be larger with darker markings on ventral side in the winter
• Females: upperside is white or yellow, edges have irregular black border, forewing has black spot
• Two pink-edged silver spots on ventral hindwing
• Larvae: usually green, yellow lateral lines, transverse bands of tiny blue spots
• Eggs: cream to orange
• Have similar migration patterns as Monarchs, but do not travel as far

Host plant: Primarily prefers Senna spp., followed by Cassia spp. and some other woody and herbaceous legumes

Nectar plant: Various flowers with longer tubes, including cordia, bougainvilla, cardinal flower, hibiscus, lantana, and wild morning glory. Found to prefer red-colored flowers

Distribution: S. United States, sometimes travels north to Canada, permanent resident in South America to Argentina and in the West Indies tropics

Flight times: Many flights year-round in the South, one flight in late summer in other southern states. See seasonality: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/48550-Phoebis-sennae

Read more about me here: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/bfly2/cloudless_sulphur.htm

Where can you find me on campus? ²

Most of the Cloudless Sulphur's observations seem to be located at the Krutch Garden on campus. Adults are most likely to be found feeding and mating on nectar plants, a few of which are around Old Main Fountain, in N. of Nugent building, and scattered around the Highland Commons region.

There are also several host species scattered around campus that may be worth checking out to see the brightly colored caterpillars:

• Senna: locations may vary
• Cassia: Krutch Garden, W. of Nugent building, and by the Starbucks at the Main library

More locations can be found using the campus arboretum's search engine: https://apps.cals.arizona.edu/arboretum/browse.aspx

References ²

Animal Diversity Web – University of Michigan, https://animaldiversity.org/

Bug Guide – Iowa State University, https://bugguide.net/node/view/15740

Butterflies and Moths of North America - Metalmark Web and Data, https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Phoebis-sennae

Discover Life, https://www.discoverlife.org/

Encyclopedia of Life, https://eol.org/

Featured Creatures - University of Florida, http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/bfly2/cloudless_sulphur.htm

iNaturalist, https://www.inaturalist.org/home

U.S. Forest Service, https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/cloudless-sulphur-butterfly.shtml

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Maxine Cruz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Maxine Cruz
2. (c) Maxine Cruz, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• BugGuide
• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• CalPhotos
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• Maryland Moths
• Mass Moths
• Moth Photographers Group
• Moths of North Carolina
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• Pacific Northwest Moths

iNat Map