Phoebis philea
Geographic Range
The Orange-barred Giant Sulphur is a resident of the New World Tropics. It is specifically found in lowland tropical America and south on into Brazil. However, it can be an irregular vagrant in southern Texas, Colorado, Minnesota,Wisconsin, and Connecticut.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
- neotropical
Habitat
Orange-barred Giant Sulphurs can be found in forest edges, city gardens, and roadsides where flowers grow. They prefer open areas.
- Terrestrial Biomes
- savanna or grassland
- forest
- rainforest
Physical Description
The Orange-barred Giant Sulfur has a wingspread of 2.75 to 3.25 inches. It has distinguishing yellow and orange markings. The male forewing has a red-orange bar and the hindwing has an orange-red outer margin. Females are larger than the males and are dimorphic. One is yellow with a orange hue and the other is white. Both forms of the female possess a solid black cell spot and black smudges. The outer half of the hindwing on the yellow butterfly is red with an orange hue.
- Other Physical Features
- ectothermic
- bilateral symmetry
Reproduction
The larva is a yellow green with lateral stripes and blackish-red dots that taper at the end. It makes a tent to hide in during the day by pulling the leaf of one of its foodplants together.
Behavior
The Orange-barred Giant Sulphur may migrate extensively . It is in flight for the majority of the year and is vagrant during mid- to late summer.
Food Habits
The Orange-barred Giant Sulphur feeds on sennas. The larval foodplants are Partridge Pea, sennas, and clover.
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
No documented examples.
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
No documented examples.
Conservation Status
Although the species has not received special attention, it is extremely rare.
-
- IUCN Red List
- No special status
-
- US Federal List
- No special status
-
- CITES
- No special status
-
- State of Michigan List
- No special status
Other Comments
Adult males gather on moist sand along rivers and streams.
Contributors
Marie S. Harris (author), University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Glossary
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- ectothermic
-
animals which must use heat acquired from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate body temperature
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- rainforest
-
rainforests, both temperate and tropical, are dominated by trees often forming a closed canopy with little light reaching the ground. Epiphytes and climbing plants are also abundant. Precipitation is typically not limiting, but may be somewhat seasonal.
- tropical savanna and grassland
-
A terrestrial biome. Savannas are grasslands with scattered individual trees that do not form a closed canopy. Extensive savannas are found in parts of subtropical and tropical Africa and South America, and in Australia.
- savanna
-
A grassland with scattered trees or scattered clumps of trees, a type of community intermediate between grassland and forest. See also Tropical savanna and grassland biome.
- temperate grassland
-
A terrestrial biome found in temperate latitudes (>23.5° N or S latitude). Vegetation is made up mostly of grasses, the height and species diversity of which depend largely on the amount of moisture available. Fire and grazing are important in the long-term maintenance of grasslands.
References
Opler, Paul A. A Field Guide To Eastern Butterflies. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
Shull, Ernest M. The Butterflies of Indiana. Indiana Academy of Science, 1987.