I need a butterfly ID please...

Hello All,

I'm trying to confirm my guess of this butterfly being a 'Mimosa Sulphur'. Can those in Texas help me...Cat? or Dale? Anyone?
I have several butterfly books and the Peterson's Field Guide is the only one that even has a pic of it...and I compared the pics at these links too. If it is, it's an adventurous migrant! :D
http://www.carolinanature.com/butterflies/txleps1.html
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=1453
http://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.asp?identification=Mimosa-Yellow-Sulphur

TIA :)
Susan



This message was edited Aug 16, 2010 1:35 PM

I couldn't begin to id it Susan. But from what I have read and looked up, it has a small area and is not likely to be a Mimosa. I did find this....
http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~pwd/txbutterflymimosayellow.html

Thanks for the link Sheila...it IS a Mimosa!!!! My butterfly pic in my initial post is exactly like that large pic in the link...WooHoo!
Yes, it's WAY out of it's range, but last year we did have 3 "rare" sightings in our garden last year...this will be our 1st this year, but the 4th rare sighting overall...AWESOME! Our 42nd butterfly and a brand new one for our records...YAY!

Here's a pic of one of a "Little Yellow Sulphur" that was in our garden about a month ago...which is what they compare it to at the link you gave me...

This message was edited Aug 17, 2010 1:22 PM

You need to send the report to BMONA with a picture to get it documented then! Congrats!

I'd have to say it is definitely NOT a Mimosa Yellow, but just an ordinary (and expected) Little Sulphur -- as are the ones on the link Sheila provided. Mimosa Yellows do not have the tiny black dots near the base of the forewing near the thorax as in all of these pictures.

Dale Clark
Dallas County Lepidopterists' Society
www.dallasbutterflies.com

Dale,

IMO, I will have to agree to politely disagree with this one...I risk being wrong in the end, but that's ok.

My photo looks exactly like the one in the large pic in the Link Sheila posted.

Additionally, the Mimosa had a yellow/lime cast/coloration, where the Little Yellow had an yellow/orangey coloration...which the camera doesn't pick up that well.

Another similar color comparison of sulphurs...
Comparable coloration differences of other butterflies in the Sulphur family would be like the Cloudless Sulphur is yellow/lime color and the Sleepy Orange is yellow/Orangey.

I also posted a pic of one of our Little Yellow Sulphur visitors in this thread and there is a huge difference...not only in the wing pattern, but the coloration as I mentioned above.

Additionally, for example...
One of our 3 "Rare" sightings last year in our gardens was a Titan Sphinx Moth. With our pics it was positvely ID's by Paul Opler and put the moth on the BAMONA map in Lancaster County here in Nebraska...which is even more out of it's range and just as adventousous as the Mimosa.
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species?l=3434
Our other 2 "Rare" sightings last year were the Large Orange Sulphur and the Western Tailed Blue :D




This message was edited Aug 17, 2010 5:09 PM

Susan...I just saw this posting. Am a bit late I admit.

The large photo on that linked page referred to is undetermined - with the most likely scenario of it being a Little yellow. They are comparing what they think is a Mimosa to a Little Yellow.

Foremost, Mimosa Yellows do not have those black spots near the hindwing basal area.

Here are photos of the Mimosa Yellow found in south Texas.
http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/myellow.html

Here are photos of the Little Yellow. Yours looks like the butterfly on the right of the mating pair on the page linked below. Better yet, compare it to the second photo dated July 24, 2005 by Gil Quintanilla taken at the NBC in Mission, TX. The markings on that one are almost exactly alike.

http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabast/Little%20yellow.html

Females tend to be whitish (to even a pale lime green) in color and the males more of an brighter yellow orange. They also tend to vary in summer and winter but the black basal spots don't change.

Sounds like ya'll are getting some rare strays. That is a good thing! With the climate changes anything could happen...as it already has proven by your other rare sightings.

Best bet is to go to the naba.org website, contact Glassberg and ask him to identify it for you.

~ Cat