This is likely a very common butterfly, but it is the first time I have seen one here. I spent about 3 hours attempting to get a good pix of this guy. This is the best. It was a real expert at keeping the sun in my eyes, and never landing for more than a second. Thanks,
trois
Trois, what you have there is almost certainly the female Orange-barred Sulphur. The back-lighting throws the ID'ing off slightly but I'm 99.99% sure of the above. You are in the range for the Orange-barred, in that we are now getting them regularly along the Texas coast. I have been raising them here in Houston for about three years. Primarily a Florida butterfly, but range is extending.
You probably have a Cassia / Senna plant in your yard or area. If not, get one from a local nursery. They are available here in Houston from Another Place in Time and Buchanan's. Both on 11th street in the Heights. A Cassia or Senna is the larval food source for the Orange-barred and the other major sulphurs.
Rod
Trois, after going back and looking again at your picture, I believe that is a Senna plant and most likely the female was laying eggs. The do this very rapidly, which is why you were having a hard time getting a picture. Look for tiny white spots sticking out around the edges of leafs near the end of each branch. The larvae primarily eat only blossoms and fresh growth. They will be a very colorful yellow with black bands.
Rod
I have hundreds of Cassia plants. I usually get the plain Sulphur on them. This is the first Orange-barred I have seen, although I may have seen one earlier today.
Thanks for the ID.
trois
The b.f. is beautiful!
Trois-
I love this BF!! I've raised a bunch but I can never get a picture with their wings open so I can see those beautiful "orange bars"
Adrienne
This is a pic I took last year. Is this the same type?
I tried while it was flying past a few times, but never got anything in focus. I hope to have many more soon.
trois
nope. The yellow cat in your pic is a Cloudless Sulphur. They're fun because they have 2 colorings. The yellow is in the Fall (I think) when the Cassia's are in bloom and they eat the flowers. Then when there are no more blooms they'll go back to light green with a yellow stripe down the side. Here's a picture of both cats so you can see the difference! They also have lots of different colorings on the Butterflies which really makes me kinda crazy. Like fall color and spring color etc...
Adrienne
This message was edited Nov 20, 2007 2:38 PM
This message was edited Nov 21, 2007 1:00 PM
My Cassias bloom most of the year, starting in Feb. Some new buds spotted today.
They are a confusing bunch.
Not so sure about asafla's determination. I have raised both and here in this neck of the woods they are both yellow. However, the cloudless sulphur looks more like a yellow monarch larva - two tones of yellow with black bands and black antennae. The Orange-barred Sulphur larvae is yellow with black bands and a few black spots front and rear. Attached is an Orange-barred Sulphur larvae which was taken indoors to complete its cycle. From it I took pictures of both dorsal and ventral sides. I have a set of both males and females.
Trois, the Cassia and Senna are basically the same plant, with different species for different zones. I refer to the latter as that is the one the nurseries seem to have settled on.
Rod
Thanks for the info. I did see another later today. To fast for a pix.
trois
Rod,
what have you found different? I love to learn...
Adrienne
Adrienne, I have reached that age where my memory is not as good as it once was. My better half is a master gardener and could probably give you a direct answer. As she is not available at this time, I recommend a review of some of the threads in this forum. There is a good one running at present about best nectar plants and host plants for butterflies. The ones for butterfly pictures are always a good source. There are some ladies (and possibly men) in there that can readily answer questions about the various Cassia and Senna plants available in different zones. I believe my area of Houston is zone 9a, could be 9b. And I only have experience with the Senna plant shown in my photo of the Orange-barred Sulphur larva.
I will be doing some surfing in this forum later and will look for some info sources that you may want to visit.
Rod
It's ok Rod...
I'd gotten the impression from your earlier post that you felt I was wrong on one of my "facts". Thats all. I'm always willing to learn new things and what happens "here" might not happen "there".
How fun that your wife is a MG....I'm one m'self!
Adrienne
