Phoebis philea
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Phoebis philea |
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| Phoebis philea | ||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1763) |
Phoebis philea , including Orange Banded sulfur butterfly is a butterfly from the family of Whites (Pieridae) and the largest species of the genus Phoebis .
features
butterfly
The wingspan of the moth is 70 to 80 millimeters. They are uniformly yellow in color with an orange spot on the front wing. The wings of the males are somewhat narrower, whereas the wings of the females have a more angular shape and have dark brown edges and spots on the forewing as well as slightly reddish edges and a series of reddish brown, oval spots on the hind wings. On the underside, both sexes are colored orange-yellow, whereby the females here have a darker color and they have a white spot on the middle of each wing that is bordered by dark. The orange bands on the top of the forewings reflect UV light . There are different colors in the females, some are more similar to the males, others are cream-colored and resemble Phoebis sennae or Phoebis argante , still others tend to be whitish, but are rare. The winter form has a light pink color and more spots on the upper side of the wings. These females are more like the males in their drawing.
Phoebis philea , upper side
Phoebis philea , underside
egg
The eggs are yellow.
Caterpillar
The caterpillars are pale green in color and have a very light, wide beige-yellow stripe on each side, as well as irregular greenish-black spots and black transverse changes on the back. On the sides of the abdomen , they are blue-black. Some forms are also yellow with black dotted green spots and a dark green and white band on both sides. There are also yellow-green variations with a yellow band on the side and red-black dots surrounded by white and a reddish-black band which is located above the yellow band. The head is yellow with four black points. It is believed that the coloration depends on the forage plant. Yellow caterpillars were mainly discovered while eating the flowers of cassia ( Cassia fistula ) and green caterpillars were more likely to be found in the foliage. However, this has not yet been adequately researched. During the daytime hours they hide in leaves that they pull together like a tent.
Doll
The pupa is pink or light gray-green to blue-green and in the area of the wings light green with a highlighted pale green and yellow side line. In the area of the head it is dark brown. The color here also varies depending on the forage plant.
Similar Art
Phoebis avellaneda differs in the reddish color of the wings.
Behavior and way of life
In southern Florida the moths fly year-round, in southern Texas at least from August to December. Male moths can often be seen ingesting minerals from puddles. There can be a large number of individuals here; several dozen are not uncommon.
Females are less common and are almost only seen in flight or while they are ingesting nectar . For this purpose they fly flowers of lantana ( Lantana ) and Spring herbs ( Impatiens on). There is no courtship, the females are caught by the males in flight and pressed to the ground where copulation takes place immediately.
The crawler befressen mainly plants such caesalpinioideae ( Caesalpiniaceae ) as Senna further clover ( Trifolium ) and pea ( Pisum ). They prefer the flowers over the leaves.
The eggs are laid individually on leaves or inflorescences.
distribution and habitat
The species mostly inhabits subtropical forest edges and clearings, but as a migratory butterfly it is not tied to it and is found in many different habitats from the southern US states such as Texas , Colorado , Minnesota , Wisconsin and Connecticut to Central America , Mexico to Argentina as well as Peru and the Caribbean , Cuba and Hispaniola and southern Brazil . Only very rarely and only in warm years does this butterfly migrate to Canada . A sighting from 1991 from the southwest of Ontario is documented , a sighting from 1986 from Nova Scotia could not be verified beyond doubt .
Subspecies
In the literature, two further subspecies are or have been distinguished in addition to the nominate form:
- Phoebis philea philea (Linnaeus, 1763) - USA to South America
- Phoebis philea thalestris ( Illiger , 1802) - Hispaniola
- Phoebis philea huebneri ( Fruhstorfer , 1907) - Cuba
status
The moth is usually very common.
swell
literature
- Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognizing and Identifying. Parragon Books, 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , p. 67
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k James A. Scott: The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-8047-2013-4 , pp. 205/206
- ^ A b c d Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility , accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ a b c d e f Learn about Butterflies , English, accessed on October 28, 2014
- ↑ a b c Animal Diversity Web , English, accessed October 28, 2014
- ^ A b c Bernard D'Abrera: Butterflies of South America. Hill House, 1984, ISBN 0959363920
- ↑ Euroleps , accessed November 21, 2014
- ^ Bernard D'Abrera: Butterflies of the Neotropical Region. Part 1 Papilionidae & Pieridae. Lansdowne Edition, Melbourne 1981, ISBN 0-7018-1033-5 , p. 111
